
Glass__^L^ 



Book. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES 
OF THE UNITED STATES : : : By Robert E. Coker 

From BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES, Volume XXXVI, 1917-18 
Document No. 865 : : : : : : Issued October 25, j<)ig 




PRICE, 40 CENTS 

Sold only by the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. 



WASHINGTON 



; : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : : 



: : 1919 



X 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES 
OF THE UNITED STATES : : : By Robert E. Coker 



From BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES, Volume XXXVI, 1917-18 



Document No. 865 : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Issued Octob, 



er 25, I gig 







^ 



PRICE, 40 CENTS 
Sold only by the Superintendent of nocuments, Government Printine Office, Washington, D. C. 



WASHINGTON :::::: GOVERNMENT 



PRINTING OFFICE 



1919 






0. 01 .-■. 
mi 29 \%\% 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Part I . Commercial fresh-water mussels 15 

Qualities of fresh-water mussel shells 15 

Varieties of commercial shells 17 

Quadrula class 19 

Niggerhead group 20 

Pimple-back group 23 

Pig-toe group 24 

Blue-point group 25 

Washboard group 26 

Lampsilis class 27 

Mucket group 28 

Pocketbook group 30 

Sand-shell group 31 

Miscellaneous groups ^^ 

Bullhead group 33 

Heel-splitter group 33 

Elephant 's-ear group 34 

Noncommercial species 35 

Summary 36 

Publications treating mussel resources of various streams 37 

Part 2 . Fresh-water mussel fisherj- 38 

Value and extent of the fishery 38 

Some local and temporary aspects of the fishery 41 

Depletion of the mussel resources 44 

Apparatus and methods of fishery 46 

Bar and crowfoot hooks 46 

Principle of capture 46 

Description of apparatus 46 

Hooks and mode of making them 47 

Bar and lines 48 

The mule 45 

Boats 50 

Operation of the crowfoot bar 50 

Advantages and disadvantages of the method 52 

Dip-net drag j2 

Origin of the method r^ 

Description of apparatus 53 

Operation of dip net 55 

Advantages of the dip-net method 55 

Shoulder rake 56 

Shell tongs 56 

Fork 57 

Dredge 57 

Local modifications of methods 58 

Summary of methods of fishery 59 

Shore equipment and processes 59 

13 



14 CONTENTS. 

Part 2. Fresh- water mussel fishery — Continued. Page. 

Elements of waste 6i 

Culls 6i 

Meats 6i 

Undersized shells 63 

Part 3. Manufacture of pearl buttons from fresh-water mussel shglls 64 

Establishment of the industry 64 

Some economic effects of the industry 66 

Development of the industry 66 

Development relative to other branches of the button industry 67 

Imports and exports of buttons 68 

Summary of economic effects 69 

Development of modem methods 69 

Processes of manufacture 70 

Preparation of shells 70 

Storage 70 

Classifying 70 

Soaking 71 

Sawing or blank cutting 71 

The machine 71 

Detached cutting plants 72 

Work and wage of cutter 72 

Production of blanks 73 

Finishing processes 74 

Preparing the blanks 74 

Making the buttons 75 

Polishing 77 

Sorting 77 

Bleaching and dyeing 78 

Carding, packing, and sale 78 

Utilization of waste products 80 

Use of shells for novelties 80 

Processes for polishing shells 81 

Buffing process 81 

Chemical process 81 

Economy and waste 82 

The problem of cutting 82 

Defective blanks 83 

Choice of shells for particular lines 84 

Shop management 84 

Proportions of product and waste 86 

Waste in cutting 86 

Waste due to excessive thickness 87 

Waste in discarded shells 88 

Rdsum6 of manufacture 88 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate I. 






Lake Pepin raucket, femalu, La/mpsilu hiteola (Lamarck). 
Yellow sand-shell, LampsiHs anodunfoides (Lea). 
Common river mucket, Lamjutilu iigamenthia (Lamarck). 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES OF THE 

UNITED STATES. 



By ROBERT E. COKER, Ph. T>., 
Assistant in charge of Scientific Inquiry, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries. 

Part 1. COMMERCIAL FRESH-WATER MUSSELS." 
QUALITIES OF FRESH-WATER MUSSEL SHELLS. 

Those who are familiar with only the common shellfish of the American seacoast 
or with the chalky, brittle shells of the streams of the Atlantic slope can have but little 
conception of the nature and quality of the mussel resources of the Mississippi Basin. 
In streams large and small throughout the greater part of this wide region, from the 
Appalachian Mountains to Arkansas and Dakota and from Louisiana to Mississippi, 
there is a wealth of pearly mussels of a variety of species, the shells of which are thick 
and firm, with clear, pearly luster, and in some cases displaying beautiful iridescence. 
Often the shells are strikingly ornamented with knobs and ridges, and the nacre, or 
mother-of-pearl, may be clear white, delicately tinted, or deeply colored with various 
shades of pink, salmon, red, or purple. The shells that are most striking in appearance 
are not, however, the most important. Of greatest value are those having the surface 
of the shell free from ornamentation or irregularities and with nacre of clear, lustrous 
white without stains or colors. It is these qualities, combined with a peculiar toughness 
or absence of brittleness or chalkiness, that lend to the fresh-water mussel shells the 
value they now possess as the basis for important manufacture. 

Until the mussels assumed economic importance the several species were without 
distinguishing common names. With the development of the fishery the shellers on 
the several streams applied the common names which have suggested themselves as 
appropriate to the appearance of the shell or those which seem to have originated in a 
spirit of facetiousness. Since the shellers move from place to place, those of one State 
frequently mingling with those of distant regions, there has come to prevail a greater 
degree of uniformity of names of mussels than of the names of fishes. 

As primary products or as by-products of manufacture the mussel shells are brought 
into commerce in the form of buttons, novelties, jewelry, chicken feed, road materials, 
composition marble, and otherwise. By far the chiefest use of mussel shells is, however, 

o The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the late J . F, Boepple. shell expert at the Fisheries Biological Station 
at Fairport, Iowa, who prepared for the station in 191 1 a series of memoranda on the commercial values of shells. These data 
have been of invaluable aid. H. W. Clark and J. B. Southall, of this station, and Ernest Danglade have been consulted with 
profit. Much information has been gained from time to time, too, through the generous advice of manufacturers, among whom 
special mention should be made of D. W. MacWillie of La Crosse, J. E Krouse of Davenport, and Henry Umlandt of Muscatine. 
None of the persons named can be held responsible for any mistakes or for such opinions as are expressed. The color drawings 
of Plate I were made by Mrs. A. F. Shira; the photographs of shells are mostly by J. B. Southall. 

IS 



l6, BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

for the manufacture of pearl buttons, now worn by nearly every individual from the 
cradle to the shroud. The pearly mussels are also valuable in the production of pearls 
at a value of about $364,000 a year, but our concern in this paper is with the adaptability 
of the shells for the manufacture of buttons. 

When the manufacture of buttons from fresh-water shells began in 1891, the yellow 
sand-shell was the first to be used. As the industry grew, the supply of these shells 
soon proved to be insufficient. According to Mr. Boepple, the mucket, pocketbook, 
and black sand-shell were then brought into use, but it was not until 1894 that the 
niggerhead shell was tried. The niggerhead proved to be an excellent shell, with firm 
texture and beautiful luster, while a portion of it was found to be highly iridescent. 
This shell gained rapidly in favor and became the standard of price, while in time the 
valuable but less abundant yellow sand-shells became monopolized by the export trade. 

It was the custom of the early shellers, as now, to gather the river-run of mussels 
and cook out the meats of all, but the shells of only two or three species were saved, 
while the others were thrown away as worthless. The shellers cooked out the entire lot 
of mussels in the hope of finding additional pearls and slugs. The shelling and the 
button industries, therefore, have a history similar to many other American industries 
in that the pioneers wasted large quantities of good material through lack of knowledge 
and experience and while secure in the thought that the supply was inexhaustible. In 
the course of time other shells were brought into use, until now 41 species in all are 
employed in the manufacture of buttons and novelties. 

There are approximately 500 species of fresh-water mussels in the United States. 
The commercial species are practically restricted to flowing waters derived from the 
drainage of limestone regions. Such waters include most of the streams of the Missis- 
sippi Basin and some of those of the Great Lakes and Gulf drainages. Here the moUusk 
finds an abundance of lime, as well as of food, with the depths of water, currents, and 
other conditions favorable to its reproduction and growth. Many species of mussel 
occur in the streams of the Atlantic coast, but their shells are either chalky and eroded 
or else too small and too thin for commercial use. Fresh-water mussels of commercial 
value are not as yet known from streams of the Pacific slope. 

An ideal button shell would have the following qualities: The nacre pearly white, 
or preferably iridescent, free from spots, stains, or colorings; the textuie firm through- 
out, neither brittle nor chalky, nor yet too hard; the inner surface smooth; the outer 
surface free from ridges or protuberances; the thickness uniform, with low umbones or 
beaks, and tips relatively thick; the shape flattish, oval; the size sufficient to permit of 
cutting several blanks. There are, however, no ideal button shells to be found. Some, 
valuable for certain desirable qualities, are yet far from perfection in other respects. A 
few approach the ideal, but the same species is not always uniform in quality in dififerent 
rivers nor even in different parts of the same river. 

A given species may yield a good working shell in one river, while in another stream 
its shell shows hard and soft spots, stains, dullness of nacre, or other poor qualities. 
For example, the washboard of the upper Illinois River, while extra large, is badly 
stained; yet the same species, in the lower stretches of this river, though much smaller, 
is flatter and so free from spots as to make a much better material for buttons. The 
muckets of the Kankakee, Wabash, and upper Mississippi Rivers are of extra good 
quality, while in the Illinois and some other rivers they are scarce and of second quality. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 1 7 

An excellent illustration is afforded by the fat mucket. It is the most common 
shell of the lakes of the upper portion of the Mississippi Basin, but in these localities it 
is neaily always very thin, sometimes almost papery. In parts of the upper Mississippi 
it attains a large size, and has a shell of good quality and thickness except for the rela- 
tively thin tip (the hinder portion of the shell). In Lakes Pepin and St. Croix the same 
species is not only of the best quality, but of such degree of uniformity in thickness as 
to be practically tipless." 

A shell can not always be judged by its appearance. The Bureau, having a shell- 
testing shop at the Fairport station, makes a practice of testing out the shells submitted 
by the field parties. Pocketbook shells of exceptionally fine appearance received from 
the Sauk River proved upon test to be so brittle as to be worthless. Niggerhead shells 
collected in some lowland waters along the Mississippi in Louisiana had an appearance 
of first quahty, but in the cutting test showed a chalky character and a tendency to 
split, which gave them a second-grade rating. It happens, too, that a shell having a 
nacre which is white upon the surface may be found in process of finishing to be dis- 
colored beneath. 

Besides the useful shells, there are found in all rivers, but not in any uniform pro- 
portion, those which are useless on account of being too thin or discolored. Some of 
the most beautifully colored shells are of no commercial value. 

VARIETIES OF COMMERCIAL SHELLS. 

Most of the commercial fresh-water mussels, considered with regard to the quality 
of shell, fall into two main classes, which may be termed the Quadrula class and the 
Lampsilis class, giving to each class the name of the genus to which belong most of the 
common species exhibiting the characters of the class. There remain a few groups of 
species of less importance, which have little in common with the others and which may 
be classed together under the head of "Miscellaneous groups." Each class naturally 
divides itself into several groups, which may be conveniently designated by the name 
of the principal species of the group. It is rather significant that the classes and groups 
correspond approximately to the general plan of scientific classification. Mussels close 
in systematic relation possess, roughly speaking, similar qualities of shell, but this must 
not be taken as a universal rule. For our present purposes, we are not primarily con- 
cerned with the scientific classification, but it happens conveniently that general state- 
ments can be made regarding the natural history of the mussels of some of the respective 
groups. 

In view of the large number of species used more or less for commercial purposes 
in the manufacture of buttons or novelties, it is somewhat difficult to decide which species 
to include. Especially is this the case since a number of mussels useless to the manu- 
facturer have an importance in the production of pearls. In the following pages several 
species are discussed which are not at present of known economic importance, but it is 
believed that none is mentioned that is not familiar to fishermen in one region or 

<• In the terminology of pearl-button manufacture a tip is a blank (tmfinished button) less than one-twentieth of an inch in 
thickness, or that portion of the shell from which only blanks of such thinness are cut. In an ordinarily good shell not more 
than one-foiuth of the area of the shell is tip. If the thickness of a shell is unusually well sustained in the hinder portion, the 
shell is without tip; at the other extreme a shell is spoken of as all tip, and such a shell is of no value. However, the term "tip" 
is somewhat diHerenUy employed by some manufacturers. 



i8 



BUIylvETlN OF The bureau OF FISHERIES. 



another. Nearly all of the mussels mentioned will occasionally reach a factory along 
with other shells. The little rainbow shell (L. iris) is commonly mistaken by shellers 
for a young mucket : therefore we have mentioned iris in connection with the mucket 
in the hope of aiding fishermen to make the proper distinction. 

One can not grasp the significance of scientific names or appreciate the sense of 
scientific classification unless the remarkable fact of convergence is understood. This 
means that species of shells not closely related may yet take the same form in certain 
characters, as in the form and color of the shell. Let us take, for example, two species 
of mussels which are so much alike in external appearance that the novice can scarcely 
distinguish between them. Both are much compressed from side to side, possess very 
thin shells, and are commonly known as paper-shells. One of these, known to science 
as Lampsilis gracilis, seems to be nearly related both to the mucket and to the inflated 
pocketbook shell, Lampsilis ventricosa. The other compressed species, which is Proptera 
IcBvissima, is closely related to another pocketbook type of shell, the much-inflated 
Proptera capax. In all features of body structure and of life history, the two paper-shells 
possess relatively little in common, and the same may be said of the two pocketbooks. 
These are cases where appearances are deceiving not only to fishermen but to anyone who 
looks upon only external characters. A very obvious case of convergence is the familiar 
one of the pink heel-splitter Lampsilis alata and the white heel-splitter Symphynota 
complanaia. In this case the resemblance is only on the outside, and a sheller will 
readily see the difference on the inner surface from the very distinct character of hinge 
and teeth in the two species (PI. XXII). 

It will materially simplify our discussion to dispose of paper-shells together and 
pocketbooks together, etc. Therefore, the commercial grouping is followed, but, as 
previously suggested, the deviation from scientific classification is not generally so wide 
as might be expected. 

In the following pages the quality and distribution of the more common commercial 
species are considered.'' The list immediately below indicates the relations of the various 
species, showing the order in which the different species are considered, and gives ref- 
erences to plates on which they are represented and to pages on which they are dis- 
cussed. In the list the use of brackets indicates that a species is discussed, but is not 
regarded at present as of commercial value. 

Order in which Different Species and their Relations are Considered, with the Plate Num- 
bers AND Pages. 



Class, group, and common name. 



Scientific name. 



Plate. 



Page. 



The Quadrula class: 

The niggerhead group — 
Niggerhead 



Long solid . . . 
Hickory-nut . 



(Golf-stickl 

The pimple-back group — 
Pimple-back 



Maple-leaf. . 



Monkey-face. . . 
(Rabbit's foot). 



Quadrula ebenus 

Quadrula solida 

Quadrula subrotunda. 

Obovaria ellipsis 

Obovaria circulus 

(Obovaria retusal 



Quadrula pustulosa . . . 
Quadrula pustulata. . . 
Quadrula cooperiana. . 
Quadrula lachrymosa. 

Quadrula frac^osa 

Quadrula metanevra. . 
(Quadrula cylmdrica] . 



II, III.. 

II 

IV 

m 



v... 

VI.. 
VI.. 
VII. 
VII. 
VII. 
VII. 



23 
23 

23 

24 

24 
24 



a In the list and following descriptive account of commercial mussels, the scientific nomenclacture of Simpson is followed. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 



19 



Order in which Different Species and thkir Relations are Considered, with the Plate Num- 
bers AND Pages — Continued. 



Class, group, and conunon name. 



Scientific naxae. 



Plate. 



Page. 



The Quadrula class— Continued. 

The pimple-back group — Continued, 

i Purple pimple-back] 
Purple pimple-back) 
Three-homed warty-backl 

The pig-toe group— 

Pig-toe 

Ohio River pig-toe 

Pig-toe 

Pig-toe 

Flat uiggerhead 

Wabash pig-toe 

The blue-point group — 

Blue- point 

Three-ridge 

Round-lake shell 



The washboard group- 
Washboard 

Washboard 

[Bank-clunberJ 

Buckhom 

The Lampsilis class: 

The jnucket group — 

Mucket 

JRainbow-shell] 

Southern niuckct ... 
Higgin'seye 



Fat mucket. Lake Pepin mucket. 

Southern fat mucket 

Butterfly 

tDeer-toe] 

The pocketbook groui) — 

Pocketbook 

[Grandma] 
Pocketbook] 
Purply] 



The sand-shell group — 
Yellow sand-shell .. . 
Slough sand-shell , . . 
Black sand-shell. . . . 



Miscellaneous groups: 

The bullhead group — 

Bullhead 

Fan-shell 

Dromedary shell 

[Kidney-shell] 

The heel-splitter group — ■ 

White heel-splitter 

Fluted shell 

(Pink heel-splitter] 
Rock pocketbook] 

The elephant"s-ear group — 

Elephant's ear 

Spike 

Noncommercial species- 
Floater) 

Slop-bucket] 

Paper-shell] 

Paper-shell] 

Squaw-foot] 

Spectacle-case] 

River pearl mussel] 

Paper-shell] 

Paper-shell] 

Paper-shell) 

The Spha^riidse) 



(Quadrula granifera] 

(Quadrula tuberculata], 
[Obliquaria retiexa] .... 



Quadrula undata 

Quadrula obliqua, , . 

Quadrula plena 

Quadrula pyramidata. 

Quadrula coccinea 

Quadrula rubiginosa. . 



Quadrula plicata 

Quadrula undulata. . . 
Quadrula perplicata. 
(Quadrula clliottiil... 
[Quadrula ueislerii] . . 



VIII 
VIU. 
VII, , 

xn.. 

IX.,, 
IX.,, 



Quadrula heros 

Quadrula boykiuiana . . 
[Quadrula trapezoides] 
Tritogonia tuberculata . 



XII, 

XI,, 



Lampsilis ligamentina 

[Lampsilis iris] ; 

Lampsilis ligamentina gibba, 

Lampsilis higginsii 

Lampsilis orbiculata 

LampsiHs luteola 

Lampsilis hydiana 

Plagiola securis 

[Plagiola elegans] 



I, XIII 

XIII 

XIV 

XIV 

XIV 

I, XV. XVI, 



XV. 



Lampsilis ventricosa 

i Lampsilis ovata) 
Lampsilis capax] 
Lampsilis purpurata] — 
Lampsilis multiradiata] . 

Lampsilis anodontoides . . 

Lampsilis lallaciosa 

Lampsilis recta 

[LampsiUs subrostrataj. , , 



XV, XVI, 

XVII 

XVII 

XVIII..,. 
XVIII, . 



I, XVI, XIX 
XIX 

XIX I. 

XIX 



Pleurobema aesopus 

Cyprogenia irrorata 

Dromus dromas 

[Ptychobranchus phascolus). 



Symphynota complanata. 

Symphynota costata 

[Lampsilis alata] 

[ Arcidens confragosus] 



XX.. 
XX. 

XX.. 
XXI. 



XXII. 



XXII. 
XXI.. 



Unio crassidens. 
Unio gibbosus... 



Anodonta grandis] 

Anodonta corpulenta) 

Anodonta suborbiculata] . . 

Anodonta imbedllis] 

Strophltus edentulus] 

Margaritana monudonta) . . . 
Margaritana margaritifera). 

Lampsilis gracilis] 

Lampsilis I^vissima] 

Lampsilis parva) 

(Species undetermined). . . . 



xxin. 
xxin. 



XXIV. 



XXVI. 
XXV.. 
XXV.. 
XXVI. 
XXIV. 



24 

= 5 
25 

25 

25 

25 

26 
26 
26 
36 
26 



27 
27 

28 
28 

28 

29 
29 
29 
30 
30 
30 

30 
31 
31 
3' 
31 



32 
32 



33 
33 
33 
33 

33 

33 
34 
34 

34 
34 

35 
35 
35 
35 
35 
35 
33 
35 
35 
3S 
36 



QUADRULA CLASS. 

This includes the niggerhead, the piniple-back, the blue-point, the washboard, and 
others of minor importance. Nearly all of the mussels thus classed together are short- 
term or summer breeders. This means that the eggs are fertilized and incubated in 



20 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

the gill pouches of the female, passed out to become parasitic upon fish, and liberated 
after the period of parasitism, all within a relatively short period of weeks or months 
and generally during the summer season. Most of these species are tolerably restricted 
in their parasitism, and for this reason, as well as on account of the short breeding 
season, they lenTj themselves less readily to propagation by artificial means. The chief 
dependence for their conservation must now be placed upon protective measures in 
order to insure a plentiful supply of spawners in nature, and, as is equally important, 
upon efforts to promote the abundance of the fishes upon which the mussels become 
parasitic. These mussels were not the first to be used and appreciated, but after coming 
into use their popularity grew until in recent 3'ears they have constituted the greatest 
portion of the raw material for manufacture. Other species of mussels fell into dis- 
favor, but now, with the discovery of better material in the Lampsilis class, the pioneer 
mussels in commerce are again returning to favor. 

From the best to the worst there is a wide extreme, but, generally speaking, Quadrula 
shells are harder and of better luster and iridescence than others; these superior qualities 
are doubtless associated with their comparatively slow rate of growth. The individual 
shells show greater extremes of thickness than Lampsilis mussels (such as the mucket) 
so that, in cutting and finishing buttons from them, there is a relatively high proportion 
of waste. In addition to the relative ease of propagation, therefore, there are several 
practical advantages in favor of the I/ampsilis mussels. 

NIGGKRHAED GROUP. 

The shells of the niggerhead group distinguish themselves from all others of the 
Quadrula class by combining a smooth exterior surface with a high degree of uniformity 
of quality. The niggerhead takes first place among the Quadrulas. 

The niggerhead, Quadrula ebenus (Lea) (Pis. II and III) came to be the mussel 
most sought, and a few years ago, at least, it was the common standard of value. The 
better shells were suited to the export demand and accordingly have advanced in price. 
Its preeminent qualities, as compared with other species of this and the fo]lo\ving 
groups, are its clear, pearly luster (equaled by only a few), the relative thickness of the 
iridescent portion, and its abundance in favorable streams. The nacre is of fine regular 
grain and lustrous white, except where iridescent. In buying mussels for button manu- 
facture the price is often based upon the percentage of iiiggerheads. 

The niggerhead forms 80 per cent of some mussel beds of the Mississippi but is not 
so common in the tributaries. It is usually restricted to the larger streams. It was 
once thought that the Mississippi niggerheads were better than any other, but this is not 
always the case. Some of the niggerheads from Arkansas are unsurpassed, especially 
those of the St. Francis River. Like other mussels, the niggerhead varies quite a little 
in form. Those which are more flat and round are preferred (PI. Ill, middle shell), as 
compared with examples which are elongate (PI. Ill, upper shell) or in which there is 
a noticeable step-off from the thicker forward and central portions to the thinner hinder 
third of the shell. The shells formerly taken in the Des Moines Rapids above Keokuk 
were of the better character. 

A notable feature of the niggerhead mussel is the markedly iridescent hinder portion 
of the shell, and the thickness of this portion is generally better sustained in *^he nigger- 
head mussel than in any other species displaying iridescence. The buttons finished from 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917- i^ 



Plate II. 




upper poir: 'Nificei/head.Qu.adrulaebenus fl.ta), from Mississip|)i River. 
I.owtT pair: (2««^/?«/(; J''/.t/<i (Lea), from Mississippi River. (Seep. 22. 1 



(See p. 20.) 



Buuu U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate III. 








Upper and middle: Nicperhead, G«ao'r«/a ebemis (Lea), from Mississippi River. (See p. 20.) 
Lower pair: Hickory-nut, Obovaria ellipsis (Lea), irom Mississippi River. (See p. 22.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 



21 



the hinder portion of the shell constitute the shiny backs, as they were originally called, 
or iridescents, as they are now more generally termed. The iridescents are of exceptional 
quality and command a substantial premium in the market, where they rival the high- 
priced buttons made from so-called "ocean pearl," or the shells of certain marine 
mollusks. While it is usually customary to finish the face of the blank which corre- 
sponds to the inner surface of the shell, a better product is obtained with iridescent 
buttons if the face corresponding to the outer surface, or back, of the shell be finished 
to make the face of the button. 

There is some difficulty not only in keeping the two sorts of blanks separate, but 
also in insuring that the blanks are cut entirely from the iridescent portion instead of 
partly from the iridescent and partly from the lustrous white surface. Since compara- 
tively few are obtained in any case, it is not a general practice to cut for iridescents, 
and most of the iridescents of commerce are cut and finished by chance, as it were, 
and simply sorted out in the process of grading the finished buttons. A prominent 
manufacturer stated at one time that a much higher price could be obtained for irides- 
cents if one could obtain a sufficient number upon which to build a line of trade. As 
it is, iridescents are generally an incidental product. 

As compared with shells like the Lake Pepin mucket, or the ordinary river mucket, 
there is considerably more waste in niggerheads, on account of the heavy hinge and 
teeth and the relative differences of thickness between the forward and hinder parts of 
the shell. For this reason particularly, relatively small niggerhead shells, from 1.5 to 
2.5 inches in greatest dimension, are preferred. Such are the shells taken in the Missis- 
sippi about Le Claire, Iowa, and in the White and St. Francis Rivers of Arkansas. In 
the early years of mussel fishery in any niggerhead fetream, a large proportion of heavy, 
coarse shells were taken, and they were much less desirable. Owing to the generally 
depleted condition of most niggerhead beds, few large shells are now taken, but occasional 
specimens are found that are upward of 4 inches in length. Some of these are of excellent 
quality, but there is a great deal of waste in cutting them, as most of the blanks are very 
thick and have to be ground to the desired degree of thinness for buttons. 

The relative economy in use of niggerhead mussels of different sizes is shown by 
the following record of tests as to number of blanks per shell and per ton : 

Sizes, Weights, and Button Production for Niggerhead Shells (Approximate Figures). 



Longest dimension. 


Number 

of mussels 

per ton. 


18-line 

blanks 

per single 

shell. 


Quantity 
of blanks 
per ton. 


Greater 
than— 


Less than— 


Inches. 

K 

I 

iH 

3 

2% 
I'A 

2K 

3 

i'A 
4 


Inches. 
I 

iK 
jK 

2 
2% 

2'A 
2^ 

\'A 

4 


I74.000 

no. 000 

5S.0OO 

33.000 

26,000 

20,000 

15.000 

10,500 

8,500 

6, 200 

4,000 

3,200 




Gross, 










1-2 

3 

4 

5 

7 

»8 

10 

"12 

014 


688 
1.083 
I, III 
1.042 

I,02X 

944 
868 
667 
622 





^ At the time of making this table only a few of the larger-sized shells were available, so that the estimates of blanks 
are less accurate for these sizes. 



22 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

Because of the demand for the smaller sizes, a large number of very small shells are 
being marketed, many of them entirely too small to be of any service whatever. 

In the years just preceding 1914 there was a growing export trade in niggerhead 
shells of small and medium size, the price reaching $40 per ton on the river. In conse- 
quence of the export demand, the domestic market was diverted more and inore to the 
inferior grade of shells. Since 191 4 the domestic market has found a larger supply of the 
niggerheads available to it, and consequently the domestic demand for lower-grade 
shells has declined. During several years prior to 1914 the prices paid for niggerhead 
shells for domestic manufacture varied from $18 to $27 per ton; in 1919 the price per 
ton ranges from $40 to $80. 

The niggerhead mussel appears to have two spawning periods, one in spring and 
another in early and midsummer, but the periods are yet to be accurately defined if they 
are actually distinct. Like other mussels, the niggerhead is parasitic upon fish, but the 
only species of fish known to carry it successfully is the river herring, Pomolobus chry- 
sochloris. Since this fish is characteristic of deeper and swifter streams, the distribution of 
the niggerhead mussel is restricted accordingly. Even in such a large but generally sluggish 
river as the Illinois the niggerhead is rare, and Forbes and Richardson report that the 
river herring is very uncommon in that stream. There are many herring in Lake Pepin, 
but few niggerheads are taken there, so that other conditions must be unfavorable in 
this place. The niggerhead is generally found in hard, gravelly or rocky bottoms, and 
it is very abundant in such rapids as occur on the Mississippi. Its distribution is, how- 
ever, rather hard to define, since some of the larger examples have been taken in deep 
and slowly flowing water. The White River of Indiana, the Scioto River of Ohio, and 
the Duck River of Tennessee have yielded some particularly large shells. 

Quadrula solida (Lea) (PI. II) is very like Quadriila ebenus and is generally regarded 
by mussel fishermen as the same. The material is equal to that of the niggerhead. 
."Uthough widely distributed through the Mississippi Basin, the mussel is relatively 
rare and small and can not be rated as of much importance. 

Quadrula subrotunda (Lea) (PI. IV) is found in the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee 
River systems. It resembles the niggerhead, and the adults are difficult to distinguish 
from the latter. At Clarksville, Tenn., it is called the "long solid," and is regarded as 
one of the best button shells of the lower Cumberland. 

The hickory-nut, Obovaria ellipsis (Lea) (PI. Ill) must be grouped with the nigger- 
head in respect to commercial qualities, although it is not closely related to it. This 
is perhaps the only conspicuous case in which different mussels agree closely in 
quality of shell while being rather distantly related in systematic characters. The 
hickory-nut mussel possesses a shell of essentially the same quality as the nigger- 
head and has sometimes been called the Missouri niggerhead. The mussel differs 
from the Quadrulas as a class in being a long-term breeder, carrying the young in the 
marsupial pouches over the winter period. 

Closely related species are Obovaria circulus (Lea) and Obovaria retusa (Lamarck). 
The former is found principally in the southwestern portion of the basin. It is too small 
to be of much commercial significance, but will yield a few small blanks. The golf -stick, 
Obovaria retusa (Lamarck), is found in the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee systems. 
Wilson and Clark report that it attains a rather large size in the Cumberland, "but the 



Bull. U. vS. B. F., 1917-1S. 



Platk I\' 





Lous solid, QitiiJnila <ntJirotunJa (Lea), from Oimbcrlaii'l River. (See p. 22.) 



Bull. U. vS. li. F., 1917-18. 



Plate V. 




Pimple-back, Quadrula pustulosa (Lea), from Mississippi River, illiistratint; diversity of this species in fnrm and 

sculpture. (Seep. 23.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 23 

deep purple of that portion of the nacre within the pallial line makes it valueless for 
buttons." 

PIMPLE-BACK GROUP. 

The better shells of this group have the same general qualities as the niggerhead. 
The best are inferior to the niggerhead only in that the backs are rough or warty, and the 
thickness of the tip is less well sustained. The luster is fine, and a portion of the shell 
is iridescent. The poorer shells of the group are worthless because of color of nacre, 
shape, or some other objectionable quality. 

Like the niggerhead , they are short-time (summer) breeders and tolerably restricted 
in parasitism, as far as is known. Unlike the niggerhead, they rarely, if ever, occur in 
such numbers as to constitute the principal species in a mussel bed. 

The pimple-back, Qucuirula pustulosa (Lea) (PI. V), is distributed throughout the 
whole Mississippi Basin in different forms and sizes but does not often attain a length 
greater than 2.5 inches. It occurs mixed in with other species and sometimes fonns 
10 per cent of the mussels in the beds. It is one of the best mussels of the Illinois River. 
It varies greatly as regards the size and number of pustules and rarely displays an almost 
entirely smooth shell. Its diversity of form is well illustrated by the several figures in 
Plate V. 

In the earlier years of the industry the pimple-back was not used. The workmen 
did not like it on account of the pustules on the back, which made it difficult to cut. 
Later, as button-making material became scarcer, it came into use and is now bought 
and worked up along with the niggerhead, having the same market value. 

The texture is firm, and the shell has a tolerably uniform thickness ; since its thick- 
ness diminishes rather uniformly toward the tip, it can be worked up economically. 
It is principally used for small-sized buttons. The color of the nacre is lustrous white, 
and there is a fine iridescence in the hinder portion. 

The pimple-back spawns in early summer and midsummer, and the glochidia are 
parasitic, chiefly upon several species of catfish. 

Quadrula puslulata (Lea) (PI. VI) is like pustulosa but is smaller and with fewer 
warts. It is comparatively rare and is not distinguished commercially from pustulosa. 

Quadrula cooperiana (Lea) (PI. VI) is a more southern form of pimple-back found in 
the Cumberland and Teimessee systems. It is called pimple-back, but, unlike the north- 
ern form, the nacre may be white or from a pale to a deep shade of pink. A blank of 
from 30 to 36 lines can be cut from the white shells. 

The maple-leaf, Quadrula lachrymosa (Lea) (PI. VII), is not found in great quan- 
tities but occurs in small numbers among other mussels ; for this reason it was once 
known as the "stranger." The material is of a good, white luster and firm texture, 
but, owing to the thin tips, about half of the blanks can be used only as "tips," which 
is the commercial term for blanks less than one-twentieth of an inch in thickness." 
A small proportion of iridescents is obtained, and, but for the thinnish tips and 
knobby back, the shell would be equal to that of the niggerhead. When found in 
considerable numbers in the shell piles at the cutting plants they are sometimes sorted 
out and cut separately. 

See footnote, p. 17. 



24 BULIvETiN OP The bureau OP FISHERIES. 

The shells are of about the same size as the niggerhead. Those 2.5 to 3 inches long 
are fairly large. Mr. Boepple reported that the Scioto and Duck Rivers yielded examples 
of maple-leaf 4 to 5 inches long. The maple-leaf mussels probably spawn in early summer 
and midsummer. 

Quadnda jragosa (Conrad) (PI. VII) is a very rare species of the maple-leaf, more 
quadrate in form than Quadrula lachrymosa; while Tritogonia nobilis (Conrad), having 
a similar external appearance, is confused with the maple-leaf. 

The monkey-face, Quadrula metanevra (Rafinesque) (PI. VII), is found in relatively 
small numbers. It occurs infrequently in the large mussel beds, but is usually found 
near the bank or outside the main beds. Owing to the large pustules and the very 
imeven outer surface it is difficult to cut, but with careful handling it may be cut 
into a few blanks of small size which are of excellent quality. The shell is often used 
to advantage for cutting one 24 or 30 line button from each shell. In value the shell 
is sometimes classed with pig-toes. The spawning time is early or midsummer. 

The rabbit's foot, Quadrula cylindrica (Say) (PI. VII), is a very long and narrow 
form that is familiar to the fishermen of the southern portion of the Mississippi Basin. 
It is too narrow, convex, and uneven of surface to be of value for button manufacture. 

One or the other of the purple pimple-backs, Quadrula granifera (Lea) (PI. VI) and 
Quadrula tuherculata (Rafinesque) (PI. VI), is found in most large rivers of the 
Mississippi and Great Lakes Basins, but they are not generally distinguished. The 
species iuberculata is flattish and is probably found more often in the smaller or tribu- 
tary streams. Both species are found in small numbers scattered among others. 
Owing to the purple color of the nacre, the shells have no commercial value. The 
layers are said to split apart in cutting. The shells have a very attractive appear- 
ance and will take a beautiful poUsh when finished as souvenirs. The mussels are of 
value in the rivers, since they produce a relatively high number of pearls. Scarcely a 
tuherculata could be taken in the Grand River in Michigan in 1 909 without finding some 
sort of pearl formation. The spawning period is early summer. 

The three-homed warty-back, Ohliquaria reflexa (Rafinesque) (PI. VI), is not at all 
closely related to the pimple-backs or purple warty-backs. It has one row of large 
knobs on each shell, and the knobs are remarkable in that those of the two sides 
are not opposite, but alternate in position; the species can not, therefore, be mistaken 
for any other. 

The three-homed warty-back is found in small quantities along with other mussels. 
The forward portion of the shell is thick, the tip thin. The form and the knobs are 
objectionable, and the size is not large, but the texture is good, and the nacre is clear 
and white and makes first-grade button material. 

The species is widely distributed in the Mississippi drainage and elsewhere. It 
appears to be a summer breeder. 

PIG-TOB GROUP. 

This group is rather limited both in variety of species and, except in certain streams, 
in general abundance of the mussels. None of the mussels is of the best quality. 

The pig-toe, Quadrula undata (Bames) (PI. VIII), is found in small quantities, prin- 
cipally in the Mississippi, and also in some of its tributaries. White River, Ind., has 
examples of imusually large sizes. While the material is somewhat similar to that 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate VI. 




^.^•^^v-. 







. PimpIe-back, Quadrula puslulata (Lea) (p. 23); h and c, purple pimple-back, Qiuzdrula oramfcra (Lea), frcjin Mississippi River 
(p. 24); d, three-homed warty-back, Obliquaria reflcxa (liafinesquc) (p. 24); c, pimple-back, i^uadrula coope/iuna (Lea}, 
from, Cumberland River (p. 23);/, purple pimple-back, Quadrula tuhrrculata (Rafincsquc) (p. 24). 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate; VII. 





. >Ionkev-ticc, Qiiadnda vielanevra (Rafinesquc) (p. 24I; b. maple-leaf. QuaJrula lackrymom (Lea) (p. ^0; c maple-leaf QW- 
rulafrajosa (Conrad), from Ohio River (p. 24); d. pig-toe, Quadrula plena (l,ea), from Cumberland River (p. =5), e, rabbit s 
foot, Quadrula cytmdrica (Say), from White River, Ark. (p. 24). 



\ 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plati; VIII. 





./ 



Upper pair: Ohio River piir-toe. Quajrula Miru.i Ctaniarek), from Oliio River. (See p. ;, )■ 
l,ower pair: Pig-toe, t)i.,j./ri.(u i„i,/a;o(Barues), from llliugis River. (Seep. 24.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-1.' 



Plate; IX. 





Upper pair: Flat niuccrhead. Qimdrula coccmea (Conrad), from Fnx River, '^eep-jij.^ 
At bottom: Wahash pig-toe, Quadmla riihigmosa (Lea), from (.edar Creek, Ind. (bee p. -s.j 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEIv INDUSTRIES. 25 

of Q. ebenus, its commercial value is not of first rank ; the shell can not be worked up as 
economically as that of some other species and is usually cut into small-sized buttons. 
The pig-toe (formerly called Quadrula irigona) is a summer breeder. 

Ohio River pig-toe, Quadrula obliqua (Lamarck) (PI. VIII), is the commonest mussel 
in the Ohio River. It is found throughout its entire length as far as mussel beds extend. 
It often forms 80 per cent of the mussels in a bed. In some places in the Cumberland 
River this is the most common mussel, and the shells from the Cumberland River are 
superior to those of the Ohio. It is found also in the Illinois River, but is rarely, if ever, 
seen in the Mississippi. 

The commercial value of its shell is not high. When first marketed from the Ohio 
River it brought only $1 to $2 per ton, and buyers were difficult to obtain at that price. 
In 1910 the price reached $8 per ton, but it has been higher since ($12 to $13 in 1914, 
and about $30 in 1919). The material has a poor luster and is chalky, and only the 
butt part of the shell can be used, as the iridescent portion of the shell is too thin. The 
nacre is often marked with green spots, and many shells are eroded at the umbones, 
these qualities being more evident in the shells from the upper portion of the river. 

Quadrula plena (Lea) (PI. VII) and Quadrula pyramidata (Lea) (PI. XII) are two 
species that are distinguished taxonomically, but they can not be differentiated com- 
mercially from the other pig-toes. 

The flat niggerhead, Quadrula coccinea (Conrad) (PI. IX) and the Wabash pig-toe, 
Quadrula rubiginosa (Lea) (PI. IX), are found principally in the small rivers. Both 
species are reported from the Grand River, Mich., and coccinea is common in the James 
River, S. Dak. They are not uncommon in the small outlets of lakes of the northern 
States. While the extreme forms are readily recognized, the two species run into each 
other (in external appearance), so that they are often confused. Rubiginosa has a pro- 
nounced posterior ridge. In shape the shells are sometimes rather circular (as is especially 
true of coccinea) or rhomboidal. They are more compressed than the ordinary run of 
niggerheads or pig-toes and have a relatively light-colored epidermis. The shells are 
somewhat puzzling to fishermen but are often called flat niggerheads or thin nigger- 
heads. They are not, however, closely related to the niggerheads in scientific characters 
or commercial qualities. 

Mr. Southall states that the nacre is sometimes rather soft, like the pig-toe, and 
sometimes very hard, like the bullhead (Pleurobema cesopus). It so happens that coccinea 
(but not rubiginosa) is placed by Dr. Ortmann in the genus Pleurobema. It is probable, 
therefore, that the commercial qualities, as well as the scientific positions of the two 
species, are quite distinct; but, in the lack of final information and with the present 
confusion in common parlance, they are mentioned together. The nacre of both species 
is of fair quality, but the iridescent part is too thin to be used. Coccinea often has a 
pink nacre, and in this case it is sometimes called "pink niggerhead." 

The spawning times of both species are probably early summer and midsummer. 

BLUE-POINT GROUP. 

We come now to species that are much larger in size, always with rough, ridged backs 
and with a quality of nacre somewhat inferior to the shells of the niggerhead. Many of 
them are well esteemed, especially because so many blanks can be cut from the single 
shell, and because they are adapted for the larger sizes of buttons. 



26 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

The species are not so restricted in parasitism as the niggerhead and the pimple- 
backs, and plicata, at least, is carried by several of the game fishes. 

The blue-point, Quadrula plicata (Say) (PI. X), and the three-ridge, Quadrtda undu- 
lata (Barnes) (PI. X), two very similar mussels, called by the mussel fishermen blue-point 
and three-ridge, are among the most widely distributed species in the whole Mississippi 
Basin, being found in most of the rivers and larger creeks in different sizes and forms. 
Plicata is the thicker species, with heavier umbones, common in the deeper and more 
sluggish waters, while undulata is flattish and characteristic of headwater or tributary 
streams. The species seem to intergrade, so that it is frequently difficult or impossible 
to distinguish them. The clammers do not seem to recognize the two species, but apply 
the term three-ridge or blue-point indiscriminately. 

Generally speaking, these mussels, even when clear of spots, work with a good deal 
of waste, on account of the heavy hinge and teeth, and they yield a considerable number 
of second and third grade buttons, although some buttons of very good quahty are also 
produced, including a few iridescents. Blue-points, three-ridges, and washboards (see 
below) were worth about $12 per ton in 1914, and about $30 in 1919. 

The commercial value of the shells varies greatly in different rivers and creeks. 
In the Mississippi River, for example, the young mussels can be sold with the nigger- 
heads. The value of the shell decreases as the mussel grows older. The shell loses 
iridescence and becomes more brittle and hard, and consequently difficult to work up; 
the layers lose their firmness of attachment, so that they split off easily. Old shells, 
moreover, are frequently spotted. It is found in manufacture that the iridescence of 
tips from these shells is enhanced by the processes of bleaching. These mussels spawn 
in midsummer. 

In the streams of the gulf drainage in Florida, Georgia, and westward these species 
are replaced by Quadrula per plicata (Conrad), Quadrula ellioiti (Lea), and Qvuidrula 
neislerii (Lea). Quadrula perplicata occurs in the Cumberland under the common 
name of round-lake shell. 

WASHBOARD GROUP. 

This group comprises, practically speaking, only a single species. 

The washboard, Quadrula heros (Say) (PI. XI), is the largest and heaviest species 
of mussel in the Mississippi Basin. One example 8 inches wide and 1 1 inches long and 
weighing over 4 pounds with the flesh, was collected by the late J. F Boepple in the 
Salt River, Ky. The empty shell weighed about 3K pounds. 

The washboard is found chiefly in large rivers in quiet, deep water and on gravel 
and mud bottoms. 

The Wabash and IlUnois Rivers have the highest percentages of washboard, although 
there are beds in the Ohio River where this species forms nearly 50 per cent of the catch. 
The shell is generally of an oval outUne and more or less elongated. It is valued chiefly 
because of its large size, making it suitable for cutting the largest-sized buttons. The 
material is tough and the grain uniform and regular. The iridescent part breaks easily 
in sawing, owing to the undulations on the back. The nacre is usually discolored with 
yellowish or greenish spots, and the older the shell the larger are the spots. We have 
received pink shells from the Illinois River. Young mussels from 3 to 4 inches long have 
only a few spots or none, and the iridescent part is as thick as in the older mussels, 
being thick enough for buttons. This part of the washboard is very similar to the 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-1 




Upper pair: Tlireo-rulire. Q:njJrula undutairt (Barnes), from lames River. S. Dak. (See i>. 26.) 
Lower pair: Blue-point, QitaJrula ^tluala (.Say), from Illinois River. (See p. 26.) 



Bull. U. .S. B. F., 1917-if 



PLATe XI. 






Upper and middle: Washboard, Quudnda lieros (Say), from Mississippi River. (See p. ;6.) 
Af h„lt„in: Buckhorn. Trrtommm («6e/-™(<!la (Barnes), from Mississippi Rn-er. (hcep. .,.) 



Bull. U.S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XI I. 








Upper and mijdie Bankclimhcr. Qumlrula trnfc:i>idri <I.ea). fnim White Riv 
At bottom; I'lg-toc, QiuiJnila /•rriimidiilii (I.cil, lri)m Cumberland River '" 



- Ark. (Seep. =7.) 

(Sec p. 25.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSEUS \ND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 27 

mother-of-pearl of the ocean. The washboard spawns in the late summer and early 
fall. 

In places in Florida, Georgia, and A'ibama heros is replaced by Quadrula boykiniana 
(Lea). 

The bank climber, Quadrula trapezoides (Lea) (PI. XII), should be mentioned in 
this connection. It is found in streams flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, from Alabama to 
Texas, and northward in the Mississippi system to Tennessee and Arkansas. The shell 
has a deep purple nacre and is quite valueless for manufacture. Possibly it yields a 
pioportion of pearls. It is averyfamiliar shell in Louisiana, Arkansas, and eastern Texas. 

The buck-horn, Tritoqonia tuhercidata (Barnes) (PI. XI), is, perhaps, better named 
in connection with the washboard than anywhere else. It has a naturally white nacre 
of good texture and quality, but is often spotted. It is thinnish at the tip and has a 
very rough back; some shells have a pinkish tinge. It has also been called pistol-grip, 
a name appropriate to the form of elongate examples. There is a short form character- 
istic of males and a much more elongate form common to females. It is found widely in 
the Mississippi and Gulf drainages and is reported as a summer breeder. 

LAMPSILIS CLASS. 

Such familiar and valuable shells as the mucket, the Lake Pepin mucket, and the 
sand shells are representatives of this class of mussels. In many respects they are quite 
distinct from the Quadrulas. 

In commercial quality there is a wider range, not only between the species composing 
the class, but even within the individual species in most cases. The highest-priced shells 
of all are of a Lampsilis species, while some of the most worthless paper-shells are species 
of the same genus. Muckets may possess excellent qualities, or again they may be 
pink or otherwise inferior; some pocketbooks are good, some are worthless. Fat 
muckets from one region may sell for scarcely less than niggerheads, while those from 
another locality would not be looked upon with the thought of marketing. The species 
of Quadrula, as a rule, have more uniformity wherever found ; some are better than others, 
but when a Quadrula is found there is a reasonable presumption that it is a shell of a 
certain grade, according to its species. 

The primary commercial difference between Quadrula and Lampsilis is that the 
latter rarely shows any marked iridescence. Sometimes iridescent qualities are referred 
to, but this generally means merely an unusually bright luster. On the other hand, 
Lampsilis mussels have a more uniform thickness, and therefore yield a larger number of 
blanks per ton than any of the Quadrulas. 

Some of these mussels are not surpassed in texture and luster, as will appear, and 
therefore this class of shells has been growing in favor in recent years. As previously 
mentioned, the raw materials first used in fresh-water button manufacture were species 
of Lampsilis. 

The Lampsilis mussels are more rapid of growth than the Quadrulus, and they are 
long-terra breeders. In the latter part of the summer, as a rule, the marsupial pouches 
are filled with eggs which develop into glochidia, and in this condition all or a large 
proportion of them are held over the winter. Glochidia can be found in the gills of the 
females at almost any season of the year. July and August, principally, constitute the 
110306°— 19 2 



28 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

intermediate season, when few glochidia can be found. These months, it is important to 
note, are the height of the breeding season for most of the Quadrulas. 

MUCKET GROiJP. 

We include in this group three abundant and important shells, the mucket, the fat 
mucket, and the southern mucket, and three species less abundant and less readily dis- 
tinguished. 

The mucket, Lampsilis ligamentina (Lamarck) (Pis. I and XIII), is one of the 
most generally distributed nmssels in the United States. The commercial value 
of the shells varies primarily with the rivers from which they are taken. The 
muckets of the Mississippi River have not been highly esteemed. The butt (or 
heavy) portion is considered too chalky, and the tips are rather thin. In many of 
the shells the nacre is pink in color, which greatly reduces the value. There are, 
however, some places in the river where the quality is superior. The muckets 
of the Wabash River have been considered very fine, but they are now rather scarce. 
The Yellow River, Ind., has produced excellent muckets. In the Ohio River better 
muckets are found higher up the river. Mr. Boepple reported them abundant and of 
good quality at Marietta, Ohio. They are abundant in the Green River, Ky., and are of 
excellent quahty in the Little Barren River, Ky. Mr. Boepple also stated that he had 
found muckets which approached marine shell in luster in the Cottonwood River, Kans. 
Muckets are comparatively scarce in the IlUnois River, but some of the fishermen 
believe they are becoming more numerous. 

The mucket can be found in almost any sort of stream, and the best shells are usually 
found where there is a good current, but this is not a universal rule. In the Grand 
River, Mich., where the current is good, the muckets have an excellent luster, but too 
large a proportion of the shell is very thin. 

The material works up well; it is soft and has a straight grain, although in old shells 
the nacre splits, and the nearer to the hinge one is cutting the worse this trouble 
becomes. Some muckets have excellent luster and clear color, but these qualities vary 
with the locality. The color varies even in the same bed; pink muckets and white 
muckets are found side by side, and the cause of this difference in color is as yet unex- 
plained. The values on the basis of ton price in 1914 and 1919, respectively, may be 
stated as approximately $17 and $45. 

The mucket may, perhaps, liberate its glochidia to some extent in the fall, but 
principally in spring and early summer. It has a relatively wide range of fish hosts, 
principally among the game fishes. 

The Uttle rainbow shell, Lampsilis iris (Lea) (PI. XIII), with its bright-green, 
broken rays on a yellowish shell, is often mistaken for a young mucket. It is found in 
the Ohio River system, and also in the streams of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and 
eastward. 

The southern mucket or yellow-back mucket, Lampsilis ligamentina gibba Simpson 
(PI. XIV), one of the finest of all shells, differs from the common mucket in being 
shorter and more compressed. The shell is therefore flatter and the thickness more 
even; the texture and luster are unsurpassed, and the material works easily and econom- 
ically. This form is found in streams south of the Ohio River and perhaps, too, in that 



Bull. U.S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XIII. 






Upper and middle: Mucket. Lampsilis lisammlina (Lamarck). (See p. 2R.) 

At hottom; Kainhow-shell, Lanifnlis ins (Lea), from Tippecanoe River, Ind. (.See p. 28.) 



Bull.. U. S. B. F., 1917-1S. 



Plate XIV. 






Upper pair; Southern mucket. Lam Psilis ligantentina^ibba (Simpson), from Black River, Ark. 
Middle pair: Higein'seye, Lanit>stlis hioains-.i (Lea), from Mississippi River. (See p. 29.) 
At bottom: Lampsrlis orbiculata (Hildrelh), irora Cumberland River. (See p. 29.) 



(See p. 28.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 29 

river. Our collections have been principally from the Cumberland, Clinch, and Holston 

Rivers. 

The Higgin's eye, Lampsilis higginsii (Lea) (PI. XIV) « is a rather uncommon 
species, but a few may be found in almost any carload of mixed shells from the Ohio or 
Illinois Rivers, or from the middle section of the Mississippi River. The nacre is often 
yellowish or pinkish, but white shells are of first grade, with good thickness and luster. 

iMmpsilis orbiculata (Hildreth) (PI. XIV) very closely resembles Lampsilis higginsii, 
but is more southern in its distribution. Its qualities are about the same as those of the 
preceding species. 

The fat mucket or Lake Pepin mucket, Lampsilis luteola (Lamarck) (Pis. I, XV 
and XVI), would not have been classed some years ago as an important commercial 
shell. Now, since the Lake Pepin form has come into use, the species is considered 
one of the best. It is widely distributed over the upper half of the Mississippi 
Basin, the Great Lakes drainage, and, according to Simpson, the entire Dominion 
of Canada east of the Rocky Mountains. Its occurrence as an economic form is quite 
restricted. The fat mucket is rarely found in rapidly moving water but is adapted to 
slow or still water. It is the principal shell of the lakes of the Middle West, both in 
the Mississippi and the Great Lakes drainage, but such waters are not generally suited 
to the production of commercial shell. The fat muckets of the lakes are usually some- 
what dwarfed and inflated, with the shell strongly curved, and too thin to produce i..^ic' 
than one or two small blanks, if any. In some cases they might be confused with 
dwarfed pocketbooks. The species is also found in rivers and creeks, but usually close 
along shore, perhaps well up on the banks and out of the main current. Examples from 
such locations generally have an inflated but more elongate form, the forward part (or, 
in commercial terms, the butt) of the shell being thick enough for blanks, while from 
one-third to one-half of the shell, or more, is so thin as to produce only tips at best. In 
this form the fat mucket is sometimes much like the slough sand-shell in superficial 
appearance. Such shells can be used, but they are not always valued highly. 

Within recent years the beds of Lakes Pepin and St. Croix have been discovered 
commercially. These lakes yield a very distinct type of fat mucket, which is remarkably 
even in thickness, with a surface relatively flat in males, and even in females much less 
curved than usual. Practically the entire surface can be cut into blanks which are of 
a suitable thickness. No other shell of any species cuts with so little waste, either as 
to the proportionate weight of shell that is thrown away after cutting out the blanks 
or as to the small amount to be ground from the blanks in reducing them to a proper 
thickness for buttons. The shell is clear white, the texture good, and the luster leaves 
nothing to be desired. The Lake Pepin mucket brought in 1914 and 1919, respec- 
tively, about $20 and $35 per ton. 

In the brilliancy and the extent of the iridescent portion the Lake Pepin mucket is 
not quite equal to the niggerhead and pimple-back, but a measure of iridescence is 
found, and in pearly character of the nacre it is fully equal to any other. As regards 
economy, it has been found that 14 or 15 pounds of blanks are a very good return from 
loo pounds of niggerhead shells, whUe more than 20 pounds of blanks may be obtained 

« This species and the following may be more closely related to the pocketboolc than to the mucket, as Ortmann holds for 
trrbiculaia. Our classification is only for shell qualities, of course. 



30 BUIvLETiN OF THE BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 

from loo pounds of Lake Pepin muckets. This shell is, therefore, the nearest approach 
to an ideal button shell now found among fresh-water mussels. 

The rate of growth is relatively rapid. At the Fairport station mussels of this 
species have grown to a length of more than i inch within six months after the date 
of infection upon the fish. These were in floating crates in the river. The age of com- 
mercial shells can not yet be positively stated but it is probably from 4 to 6 years." 
Like most others of the genus, it is a long-term breeder. Its fish hosts are the common 
game fishes, such as the basses, crappies, sunfishes, perches, and sand pikes. Some 
have been grown in ponds at the Fairport station to a length of about i inch in a season, 
and very thin buttons have been cut from such shells at the end of the second growing 
season. The Lake Pepin mucket lends itself to methods of artificial propagation better 
than any other species. 

Lampsilis hydiana (Lea) may be called the southern fat mucket, being found in 
the lower portion of the Mississippi Basin. The specimens we have had might easily be 
confused with the Lake Pepin form and appear to resemble it in qualities of shell. It 
occurs in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and neighboring States. 

The butterfly, Plagiola securis (Lea) (PI. XV), presents another case of a mussel 
which must be placed far from its systematic position. Its shell qualities place it more 
nearly with the muckets than with any others. It is a well-known mussel of the larger 
streams of the Mississippi and Ohio drainages and is reported from Alabama. Its 
beautiful form and markings give it the name of butterfly. Mr. Boepple remarked that 
comparatively few females were found, and that they are of much lower commercial 
value than the males, on account of being so much thicker and lacking in luster. 

The shells of the males are very flat and have a white color and good luster, with a 
rather uniform thickness over most of the shell. There are few places where 100 pounds 
can be obtained, but they are often met with in mixed shipments, and are valued. 

It is a long-term breeder, and its most common fish host is the fresh-water drum, or 
sheepshead, Aplodinolus grunniens. 

A smaller species, the deer-toe, Plagiola elegans (Lea), is very common, but rarely 
attains a size sufficient for cutting blanks. 

POCKETBOOK GROUP. 

The pocketbook, Lampsilis ventricosa (Barnes) (Pis. XV and XVI), is a large and 
very inflated mussel found throughout the Mississippi and Great Lakes drainages 
(as well as in the Nelson River), in large and small rivers, and in some lakes. It is one 
of the species most familiar to the fishermen and most readily obtained. It is found in 
gravel bars or sandy bottom, sometimes alongshore and sometimes in the deeper water. 

The commercial value of the pocketbook is generally rather low. The shells of the 
male are better than those of the female. There are some rivers in which the pocket- 
book becomes a very good shell for button manufacture. Mr. Boepple had an example 
from the Yellow River of Indiana, from one side of which 52 18-line blanks were obtained, 
all of which would make good buttons. The Yellow River specimens are among the best, 
since the hinder or tip portion of the shell is thick enough for buttons. As a rule 
better shells are found in small rivers and creeks than in the large rivers. 

a At ages of 3M and 4}^ years some Lake Pepin muckets reared in a pond at the Fairport station yielded 12 to 33 14-line 
blanks over aK lines in thickness. 



Bruu. U.S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Pi ATE XV. 




'v, t>'^^^ ^■-•. 
'* 'i • ''Vv 







Upper left: Lake Pepin nuicket. I,iiiH/ii//ii /u/fiu ll..im.irc.k), iii.iK-. (.Seep. 29.) 
Upper riulit: Lake Pepin miicket, Lainfiiilis hdcula (Lamarck), female. (See p. 29.; 
Lower left: Butterfly. Ptagiola secuns (Le;i). (See p. 30 ) 
Lower right: I'ocketbook. Lumpsihs vtiitricosa (B.irnes). (See p. 30.) 



Bull. U. vS. B. F., iqiy-iS 




Plate XVI. 



■'"■^--"■^**'-Jii-*v*^j^i^ii<.-li' 





Upper: Lake Pepin muckel. LavipsiUs lulcola (Lamarck). (See p. ^9.) 
Middle: Yellow sand-shell, Latnpsilts anodcnitoides (Lea). (See p. 31.) 
Lower- Potketbouk, Lamp^ihs vaUriiosa (Barnes). (See p. 3c.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-1S. 



Plati; X\II 











Upper: Grandma, Lampsilis mata (SayV from Cumberland River. (See p. 31.) 
Lower- Puckct)>oukf Lampsdis capax (Green), from ^Mississippi River. (See p. 31.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F. 




Platu XVIII. 





Upper pair: Purply. LambsUis p^iirpurata (Lamarck), from Kiamicbi River, Okla. (See p. ^i.) 
At bottom: Z-a wjbjj/w mu//jra(/ia(a (Lea), from. Stone River, Tenn. (See p. 31. j 



FRESH -WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 3 1 

Often the forward or butt part of the shell is somewhat chalky and comprises 
scarcely more than one-fourth of the shell surface, while the remaining three-fourths 
is too thin and brittle. A noteworthy feature of the shell is the lateral hinge, which 
has a beautiful pearly luster. The cardinal teeth, too, have an attractive form and 
are used in the manufacture of cheap jewelry. 

Lampsilis ovata (Say) (PI. XVII), the southern pocketbook or grandma, is not 
ordinarily distinguished from ventricosa. It is found in the Ohio River and tributaries, 
as in the Clinch, Holston, and Cumberland Rivers. It is rather thinner and inferior to 
the common northern pocketbook. 

Lampsilis (Propiera) capax (Green) (PI. XVII), also called pocketbook and confused 
with the others, is not closely related to them in spite of its superficial resemblance. 
It is quite too thin for value in button manufacture. The purply Lampsilis {Propiera) 
purpurata (Lamarck) (PI. XVIII) is probably related to capax. It is very familiar to 
shellers in Texas, L,ouisiana and Arkansas, but the thinness of the shell, as well as the 
deep purple nacre, makes it unfit for the trade. It is one of the most beautiful shells. 

Another species which looks something like a young pocketbook, but which never 
attains so large a size, is Lampsilis multiradiala (IvCa) (PI. XVIII) of the Ohio drainage 
and southern Michigan. Its shining greenish-yellow, bright-rayed shell is very attrac- 
tive to the eye. 

SAND-SHELL GROUP. 

There are three sand-shells, the yellow, the slough, and the black. 

The yellow sand-shell, Lampsilis anodontoides (Lea) (Pis. I, XVI and XIX), is the 
most highly prized of all commercial shells. It is never very abundant, but it is probably 
the most widely distributed of all the species discussed. Its distribution as given by 
Simpson is: "Entire Mississippi drainage, except, probably, the upper Missouri. All the 
Gulf drainage from the Withlacoochee River, Fla., to the Rio Grande, and into Mexico." 
The common name is derived from the clear yellow or brownish-yellow exterior color. 

These shells are too valuable for use in button manufacture ; consequently they are 
always sorted out. Many tons of them are bought from the fishermen on the rivers to 
be used for export. Even those that reach the factories in ra^ixed cars are sorted out in 
the yard to be sold again to shell jobbers. In very recent years, however, due to war 
conditions, many sand-shells have been cut into buttons in domestic manufacture. 
Some years ago it was said that the sand-shells were shipped chiefly to France; in the 
few years preceding 1914 the greater part seemed to have been destined for the German 
market, and the price on the rivers in 191 3 was $60 per ton. The export was neces- 
sarily interrupted in 1914, but in the early part of 1911 the writer was informed of an 
offer of $92.50 per ton f. o. b. New York, and a consular report from Hamburg quoted 
these shells at prices equivalent to from $108 to $151 per long ton, when niggerheads 
were quoted in the same market at $54, and muckets at from $47 to $119. About 
three pairs of sand-shells (the shells from three mussels) usually make a pound, so 
that the mussels were worth at least i cent apiece on the river and, at the date of the 
consular report, 2 cents apiece or more in Hamburg. In 1919, with some export 
demand, yellow sand-shells bring about $90 per ton. 

The shell owes its value to the following characteristics: (i) Its luster and pearly 
qualities are almost if not quite equal to the marine shells; (2) its texture is smooth and 



32 BULIvETiN OP THE BURJEAU OP FISHERIES. 

firm; (3) the shape of the shell is long and straight, so that pieces suitable for knife han- 
dles or other novelty objects can easily be cut from it; and (4) the comparative uni- 
formity of thickness and the light hinge make the shell yield the best return in proportion 
to its weight. 

This species is found in small quantity mixed with other mussels in the principal 
mussel beds or on the more sandy or gravelly shoals. It seems also to live well in 
muddy bottoms. 

Like others of the genus, it is a long-term breeder, but is, so far as known, very 
restricted in parasitism. No other hosts than the several species of gars seem to carry 
it well, but there is reason to believe that the large-mouth black bass may also serve as 
host. It is a peculiar fact that the two species of most restricted parasitism are the 
niggerhead and the yellow sand-shell. We know only one host for the niggerhead, 
yet it is a very abundant mussel; there are several species of gars, and they are quite 
plentiful; but the sand-shell is never very numerous in any locality. 

A noticeable characteristic of the yellow sand-shells is the habit of wandering about 
on the bottom; for they travel more than the mussels of any other species. The yellow 
sand-shells are frequently observed to crawl up on the shoals with the rising water, and 
it is common report that after the subsidence of floods they may sometimes be found 
far out in the swamps. 

The sand-shell has a relatively rapid rate of growth, probably attaining a market 
size in four to six years. Its growth is undoubtedly more rapid in the South, as in Arkan- 
sas, than in the North. If any species should prove adapted for commercial rearing in 
private waters, it would seem that the yellow sand-shell and the Lake Pepin mucket 
offer the best promise. 

The slough sand-shell, Lampsilis jallaciosa (Smith) Simpson (PI. XIX), is 
similar to the yellow sand-shell but is generally smaller and rather too thin. Its 
geographic range is wide, and it is said to have been much more abundant formerly 
than now. There are few places in which the slough sand-shell is at all numerous. It 
is common in the lower part of the Illinois River, and is a very familiar shell in the 
Wabash River, where it is mistakenly called bank-climber. 

The black sand-shell, Lampsilis recta (Lamarck) (PI. XIX), is also widely distributed 
in the Mississippi River and the Alabama River drainages, the Red River of the North, 
and the St. Lawrence system. It is found principally in the upper part of the Missis- 
sippi Basin. 

The shell is generally more compressed and heavier than the other sand-shells. 
The nacre has an excellent surface, but its economic qualities are variable. Often the 
nacre is deeply colored, pink, salmon, or purplish. White shells are the rule in the 
Mississippi and in some other streams, and many of them are of very superior quality. 
They were sometimes exported with the yellow sand-shell. The black sand-shell has a 
pecuUarly good luster and pearliness and even iridescence; some of the most beautiful 
specimens the author has seen were, however, condemned by manufacturers as too brittle 
and as otherwise inferior. 

Lampsilis subrosirata (Say) (PI. XIX) might sometimes be confused with the black 
sand-shell or more easily, perhaps, with very dark-colored slough sand-shells. It is 
entirely too thin to be of value. 



Bull. U. vS. B. F., 191 7-1 S. 



Plate XIX. 






\e owsanJ-shell. Z.a,„/.s,;„„,„^„„to,V;^jrLe3), from Mississippi River. (Seep. ,t.) 
^louc^ sand-shsll L„n,t«,l,sfallac,„sa (.Smith) Simpson, fr. m Mississippi River. '(See p. 
maciv sand-sh ejl, Lamfsihs recla ( Lamarck ), from M ississippi River. (See p. 32.) 
, Lampsdis iubroslrata (Say), from Jtississippi River. (Sec p. 32.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Platu XX. 




Top: Bullhead. Plcurobcma aesoinis (GtcenX from Wabash River. (See p. 33.) 

Middle pair: Dromedary mussel. Dromus dramas (Lea), from Ciunberland River. (See p. 33.) 

I^wer pair: Faa-shell, Cyprogmia irrorala (Lea), from Ciunberland River. (.See p. 33.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F 




Plate XXI. 




X 




Upper pair: Kidney-shell, Plychobranchus pliascolus (Hildrcth), from Obey River, Ky. (See p. 33.) 
Lower pair: Rock pocketbook, Arddcns confragasws (Say), from Mississippi River. (See p. 34.) 



Bui,L. U. S. B. F., 1917-18 



Plate XXII. 




Upper left and middle right: Pink heel-splitter, LampsUis alaia (Say), from Jlississippi River. (See p. 33.) 

Lower left and lower right: White heel-splitter, Syiiip/ryiwfa cornplanala (Baraes), from Kankakee River. (See p. 33.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL, INDUSTRIES. 33 

MISCELLANEOUS GROUPS. 

There remain for brief mention about a dozen species which have little in common. 
None is very numerous, generally speaking, but all are more or less familiar to fishermen 
and manufacturers, while nearly all enter to some extent into button manufacture, 
although they are rarely bought intentionally. Some, at least, have certain good 
qualities. 

BULLHEAD GROUP. 

The bullhead, Pleurobema cpsopus (Green) (PI. XX), is a yellow-back, thick, knobby 
shell, with nacre of excellent whiteness and luster. It is, however, exceedingly hard in 
texture, difficult, therefore, to cut, and injurious to the saws. Mter the blank is cut, 
the button is finished readily and takes a good polish. The fishermen in some locali- 
ties have facetiously dubbed this shell the "clear profit," because it can be thrown in 
to add weight at a profit to themselves and, supposedly, at a loss to the buyer. Sheep- 
nose is another name, referring to its form. It is a mussel of rather wide distribution 
in the Ohio drainage and eastern part of the Mississippi Basin northward. 

The fan-shell, or ringed warty-back, Cyprogenia irrorata (Lea) (PI. XX), is a smaller 
and flatter mussel of good foim and appearance, but its qualities are reported to be sim- 
ilar to those of the bullhead. It occurs in the Ohio drainage, especially Tennessee and 
Kentucky. 

The dromedary mussel, Dromus dramas (Lea) (PI. XX), is somewhat like the 
fan-shell, but without the low protuberances on the back of that shell. It is found in 
the Tennessee and Cumberland River systems. In appearance it suggests the southern 
mucket, but its qualities, so far as known, correspond to those of the fan-shell. 

The kidney-shell, Ptychobranchus phaseolus (Hildreth) (PI. XXI), is a much 
more elongate shell, with hard nacre and an undesirable steely luster. It is found 
in the Ohio drainage and is reported to extend northward to Michigan and southwest- 
ward to Louisiana, Arkansas, and Kansas. 

HEEL-SPLITTER GROUP. 

The white heel-splitter, or pancake, Symphynota complanata (Barnes) (PI. XXII), 
is of wide distribution in the upper Mississippi and Ohio drainages, the upper St. Law- 
rence drainage, and the Mackenzie River. It has a large, fine surface, but unfortunately, 
the shell is nearly always thin. In some localities it becomes very large and of suitable 
thickness but is brittle. The buttons can be finished with good luster, but the shell 
is liable to split into pieces when the blanks are being cut. It is said that they can be 
cut readily when fresh from the river and before the shell has so dried out as to be 
checking and splitting. 

In some places the name elephant's ear is applied to this species. The name is 
appropriate enough, except that it has already been so generally applied to another 
species to be discussed later. 

The fluted shell, Symphynota costata (Rafinesque), a comparatively thin-shelled 
mussel of wide distribution, has recently come into use from certain streams in 
Wisconsin. 



34 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

The pink heel-splitter, Lampsilis alata (Say) (PI. XXII), is mentioned in this 
connection only because of the confusion of names. It has about the shape and thick- 
ness of the white heel-splitter but is always purple or pink and is worthless for button 
manufacture. The beauty of the nacre and of the teeth makes it useful in novelty 
work. It occurs in the Mississippi drainage at least as far south as Arkansas, as well 
as in the drainages of the St. Lawrence River and the Red River of the North. 

The rock-pocketbook, or bastard shell, Arcidens conjragosus (Say) (PI. XXI), has 
little resemblance to the white heel-splitter in form, but its nacre seems to be of the 
same character. It has the rough exterior of a blue-point, with the inflation of a pocket- 
book, which accounts for its common names. It is probably related to the Symphynotas. 
The species is rare but widely distributed. 

ELEPHANT'S-EAR GROUP. 

This is the last group of commercial mussels, and the shells possess peculiar features, 
good and bad. There are only two species to be considered, the elephant's ear, Unio 
crassidens (Lamarck) (PI. XXIII), and the spike or lady-finger, Unio gibhosus (Barnes) 
(PI. XXIII). The former is distributed through the Mississippi drainage generally, 
and occurs also in the Alabama, Tombigbee, and Chattahoochee Rivers. The spike 
has a very similar distribution, but extends into the St. Lawrence and its tributaries, 
being common, for example, in the small streams of Michigan. 

As regards economic qualities, the characterization of the two species must be 
the same, except that the spike has generally a poorer form and is more often inferior 
in texture. The elephant's ear is broader, more rectangular in form, and heavier. 
The spike, as the name implies, is more elongate and thinner at the tip. The entire 
shell is sometimes very thin, as found in small streams. 

Both species generally have an appearance described as "solid," with a thick 
anterior (butt) portion and often with a very uneven surface. The color may be deep 
purple, reddish, or salmon, or occasionally white, and is often particularly beautiful. 
Unfortunately, coloration of any kind detracts from the commercial quahty of a shell. 

The thickness is good, but the most favorable feature of the shell is its texture, 
which is probably equal to that of marine shells. A manufacturer stated that cutting 
elephant's ears as compared with ordinary hard, white shells was like sawing a cake 
of firm soap as compared with sawing a board, and quoted a trade maxim: "When 
you find a pink shell you find a good shell"; that is, a shell which cuts well, although 
its color may make it undesirable. Analysis shows that the color is a feature of the 
organic matter in the shell and not of the crystalline or lime content. No clue has yet 
been obtained as to the nature of the coloring matter, nor has any entirely satisfactory 
method of bleaching been discovered, unless quite recently. If the color could be 
removed from the nacre by a cheap process that would not injure the texture or luster 
of the shell, the elephant's ear would become a most popular material. 

Elephant's ears, when purchased in mixed lots, can be used to advantage for the 
production of smoked-pearl buttons, if stained with silver nitrate. Occasionally car- 
load lots of this shell have been purchased on the rivers toward the close of the season, 
but the practice has been discouraged by the tendency of shellers to throw in all 
maimer of pink, purple, and otherwise useless material. Both soecies are used in 
making novelties. These mussels are probably short-term summer breeders. 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Platb XXIII. 




Upper paii: Elephant's ear, Unia crassidms (Lamarck), from Mississippi River. (See p. 34.) 
I.ower pair; Spike, L'nio Qtbbpsus (Barnes), from Mississippi River. (See p. 34.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-1 




Plate XXIV. 





Upper and middle: Floater, Anodonta grandis (Say), from James River. S. Dale. (See p. 35.) 
Lower: Rivi-r pearl mussel. Margariiana viarganlifcra (I.innjeusl. frdm Freeixrt, We. (See p. 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plativ XXV. 







Upper pair: Squaw-foot, StrophUiis cdentulus (Say). (See p. 35.) 
Lower i>air: Paper-shell. A nod>mla intbccillis (Say). (See p. 35.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Pl.xte XX\'I. 





Vuwt: Faver-sheW. Anodontasuborbiculala (.Say). (See p.. 15) . . 

Lower oair- Snectacle-case. A-faraaW/OTs moreorfOTfa (Say), from Mississippi River, (bee P- ■i'.l 

The three small shells in upper left-hand corner of plate are examples of Spharuda:, not fresh-water mussels. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AlvID MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 35 

NONCOMMERCIAL SPECIES. 

We have completed the list of mussels of some economic value, numbering about 
41 in all. There are approximately 533 species of the Unionidae in North America 
(Simpson). Therefore, though granting a few omissions in the present list for species 
from localities little studied, it is discovered that the great majority of the American 
species are not of economic use. It is desirable to mention only a few of those forms 
which are most abundant and most famiUar to shellers, or of pardcular interest for 
other reasons. Most of the noncommercial species are not numerous, and some are 
quite rare and restricted in distribution. Even in the economic investigations of 
fresh-water mussels it is necessary to devote some attention to the useless forms, because 
the study of such mussels often throws significant light upon the propagation, habits, 
and other relations of the economic forms. 

The floaters, Anodonta gra-ndis (Say) (PI. XXIV) and other species, and the slop- 
bucket, Anodonta corpulenta (Cooper), are famiUar shells of the slack waters along river 
shores or in sloughs. The shell is very thin and brittle and entirely useless. In one of 
the overflow lakes near Fairport there are found numbers of the very large and com- 
pressed Anodonta suborhiculata (Say) (PI. XXVI). The most interesting species of 
Anodonta is the small, elongate, and paper-shelled Anodonta imhecillis (Say) (PI. 
XXV), which has been found to develop without parasitism. 

Another species which has been observed to develop without parasitism, but which 
has also been found to develop with a stage of parasitism on fish, is the squaw-foot, 
Strophitus edentulus (Say) (PI. XXV), which is widely distributed in the Mississippi and 
Atlantic drainages. The Anodontas are not only thin-shelled but also are marked by the 
entire absence of hinge teeth; Strophitus has no teeth but a thickened hinge line. The 
shell is thicker than that of Anodontas but is too thin for commercial use ; the nacre is 
generally of a dirty-yellowish color. 

The spectacle-case is a thin-shelled mussel of the elongated form suggested by its 
name. The species is Margaritana monodonia (Say) (PI. XXVI), of the Ohio, Cum- 
berland, and Tennessee systems, but rare in the Illinois River. Its interest consists 
in the fact that it is the nearest relative of the river pearl mussel, Margaritana margar- 
itijera (Linnaeus) (PI. XXIV), the principal pearl-bearing mussel of Europe and New 
England. 

The paper-shells, as the name indicates, are too thin for utility, although of attrac- 
tive appearance. They are very common and of wide distribution through the Missis- 
sippi Basin and elsewhere. The principal species are Lampsilis gracilis (Barnes) and 
LampsUis (Proptera) IcBvissima (Eea). 

Just as there are minnows among the fishes which are very small, even when adults, 
so there are small forms of mussels; an instance is afforded by the rainbow-shell, men- 
tioned on an earlier page. One of the smallest of all true fresh-water mussels is 
Lampsilis parva (Barnes), which grows abundantly in the ponds at the Fairport station. 
It is narrow in form and never attains a length much exceeding i inch. Much of the 
skepticism of practical men regarding the results of investigations of the life history of 
mussels has been due to a lack of acquaintance vdlh the small species. Time and 
again shellers or others have found reason to beUeve that mussels bring forth their 
young in an advanced stage of development, because they have found supposedly 
young niggerheads attached to, or inclosed within the dead shells of old niggetheads. 



36 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

In nearly every case the little mollusks thus found are not the young of larger mussels, 
nor are they mussels of any character. It should be clearly and generally understood 
that,- while all the larger clams of the rivers are mussels, there are clams which are not 
mussels at all, being markedly different in structure and development. There is no 
common name for these, but they pertain to several species of Spharium, Musculium, 
and Corneocydas (Pisidium) (PI. XXVI). The usual diameter is 0.25 to 0.5 inch. They 
are frequently found attached to stones or to old shells in the mud. A dead shell may 
be found to be full of them. The Unionidse (fresh-water mussels) and the Sphseriidae 
live side by side in our rivers, but each family is more nearly related to different families 
of ocean shells than to each other. 

SUMMARY. 

Of the North American species of fresh-water mussels, more than 500 in all, we 
have named 66 as more or less famiUar to the fishermen, but of these only 41 can be 
classed as having commercial value in the shell trade. Some of the others are valuable 
as producers of pearls. 

Looking at the 41 used in manufacture more closely we find only 17 that are of 
real importance at the present time. It is desirable to name these separately. 

Quadrula class: 
Niggerhcad. 
Hickory-nut. 
Pimple-back. 
Maple-leaf. 
Monkey -face. 
Pig- toe. 

Ohio River pig-toe. 
Blue-point. 
Three-ridge. 
Washboard. 

]\Iany manufacturers or buyers would reduce this list by omitting several of the 
species, but there would probably be little agreement as to the species to be eliminated. 

The best of all species at the present time are the yellow sand-shell, the nigger- 
head, the southern mucket, and the Lake Pepin mucket, the last three being of approx- 
imately equal value. The yellow sand-shell has been used entirely for export and 
commands a price nearly double that of other species. Many niggerheads were 
exported a few years ago, causing a distinctly advanced price. 

There is a great deal of variation in quality among the several species. Some 
shells are better for one purpose, while others are better for another. 

Within the species there is variation according to the locality in which the mussels 
have grown. A mussel may have a shell of good quality in one stream and of poor 
quality in another. The differences may apply to color, luster, texture (firm, chalky, 
brittle, or hard), and form (shape and thickness). 

Within the same mussel bed there may be differences in quality in the same species. 
We may find side by side pink muckets, white muckets, etc. 

The shells of the Quadrula class show more uniformity in quality over the entire 
region of distribution than those of the Lampsilis class. 

Iridescence is best shown in the niggerhead and pimpleback groups, but only a very 
small percentage of truly iridescent buttons can be obtained in any case. 



Lampsilis class: 
Mucket. 

Southern mucket. 
Lake Pepin mucket (fat mucket). 
Butterfly. 
Pocketbook. 
Yellow sand-shell. 
Black sand-shell. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 37 

The requisite qualities are pearliness, luster, absence of color, and a texture firm 
but not too hard ; and these qualities are as good in the better Lampsilis shells as in the 
better Quadrulas. 

The most common defects for nearly all shell species are spotting or staining, due, 
in many cases, undoubtedly, to parasites, and natural nacre colors, such as pink, salmon, 
or purple. Stains are most common in sluggish rivers. Colored shells seem more 
prevalent in clear, shallow streams, but no universal rule has been observed. 

Many of the tiny shells found attached to old shells are not young fresh^water 
mussels, as is often assumed by shellers, but belong to an entirely different family of 
bivalves. 

PUBLICATIONS TREATING MUSSEL RESOURCES OF VARIOUS STREAMS. 

CoKER, Robert E. 

1912. Mussel resources of the Holston and Clinch Rivers of eastern Tennessee. U. S. Bureau of 

Fisheries Document No. 765, 13 p. Wasliington. 
1915. Mussel resom'ccs of the Tensas River of Louisiana. Economic Circular No. 14, U. S. Bureau 
of Fisheries, 7 p. Washing;ton. 
CoKER, Robert E., and Southall, John B. 

1915. Mussel resources in tributaries of the upper Missouri River. (With description of shell found 
in the James River, Huron, S. Dak., July 27, 1913.) Appendix IV, Report, U. S. Com- 
missioner of Fisheries for 1914, 17 p., i pi., i map. Washington. 
Danglade, Ernest. 

1914. The Mussel Resources of the Illinois River. Appendix VI, Report, U, S. Commissioner 
of Fisheries for 1913, 48 p., 6 pi., including i map. Washington. 
Eldridge, John A. 

1914. The mussel fisherj- of the Fox River. Appendix VII, 8 p.. Ibid. 
Isely, F. B. 

1914. Mussel streams of eastern Oklahoma. Economic Circular No. 9, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, 
6 p. Washington. 
Meek, S. E., and Clark, H. Walton. 

1912. The mussels of the Big Buffalo Fork of White River, Arkansas. U. S. Btireau of Fisheries 

Document No. 759, 20 p. Washington. 
Shira, Austin F. 

1913. The mussel fisheries of Caddo Lake and the Cypress and Sulphur Rivers of Texas and Louisi- 

ana. Economic Circular No. 6, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, 10 p. Washington. 
fUTTERBACK, W. I.] 

1914. Mussel resources in Missouri. Economic Circular No. 10, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, 6 p. 

Washington. 
Wn-soN, Charles B., and Clark, H. Walton. 

1912. Mussel beds of the Cumberland River in 1911. Economic Circular No. i, U. S. Bureau of 
Fisheries, 4 p. Washington. 

1912. The mussel fauna of the Maumee River. U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 757, 
72 p., 2 pi. Washington. 

1912. The mussel fatma of the Kankakee Basin. U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 758 
52 p., I pi., I chart. Washington. 

1914. The mussels of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Docu- 
ment No. 781, 63 p., I pi. Washington. 
Wilson, Charles B., and Danglade, Ernest. 

1912. Mussels of central and northern Miimesota. Economic Circular No. 3, U. S. Bureau of Fish- 
eries, 6 p. Washington. 

1914. The mussel fauna of central and northern Minnesota. Appendix V Report, U. S. Commis- 
sioner of Fisheries for 1913, 26 p., i map. Washington. 



Part 2. FRESH-WATER MUSSEL FISHERY." 
VALUE AND EXTENT OF THE FISHERY. 

The fresh-water mussel fishery is older than the fresh-water pearl-button industry, 
since the mussels have been taken in the search for pearls since 1857 at least, although 
but locally and irregularly. The importance of the fishery, in its two phases of pearling 
and shelling, dates from the beginning of the manufacturing industry, in 189 1. It is 
interesting to note that at the present time the value of the pearl product is equal to 
about one-half that of the shell product. In some streams, chiefly the smaller ones, the 
pearls bring a better return to the fishermen than the shells, the Black River of Arkansas 
being a notable instance; but generally the value of the shells is considerably greater 
than the return from the pearls; the usual ratio is about 2 to i. 

The present paper is intended to refer primarily to the shelling industry and to give 
somewhat briefly an account of the territory and methods of the fishery. Since the 
pearls are usually taken incidentally in preparing the shells, the pearling methods are 
essentially the same, except that in regions where pearling is almost the exclusive object 
the practice of cooking out is not followed, owing to the belief that heat is detrimental 
to the pearls. In the shell fishery many noneconomic mussels are taken and cooked out 
along with the commercial shells with the hope that additional pearls may be found. 

It would be of interest to compare the shell production of earlier years with the 
more recent statistical data for the mussel fishery. The earliest available estimates of 
the mussel fishery are contained in Statistics of the Fisheries of the Interior Waters of 
the United States, by Hugh M. Smith.* The quantity of mussel shells taken in 1894 is 
stated at 195,500 pounds (equivalent to 97.75 tons), having a value of $2,737. The 
small quantity of shells and the high unit value indicate that the industry was in a very 
rudimentary condition then, when few shells were required, and those bought were by 
the pound. It is well known from other sources that, owing to the great abundance of 
shells in proportion to the market demands, the price soon reached a low level, about $5 
per ton, fluctuating from $4 to $10; but the supply was such that the fishermen made 
better wages then than at the present time, when the price received per ton is many 
times higher. 

Smith "^ states that in 1897, 3. 502 tons of shells were taken in Iowa and Illinois with 
a value of $40,408, and in 1898, 3,641 tons with a value of $37,008. Almost the entire 
fishery was within the limits of these two States at that time. It would appear that 
the average price per ton was about $11.50 in 1897 and about $10 in 1898. 

A census report for 1889 shows that 23,824 tons of shells were taken, with a value 
of $216,404 (average price, $9.04 per ton), and a census report for 1908 gives the tonnage 
as 38,133, worth $386,000 ($10.02 per ton). 

" Ernest Danglade, formerly assistant in the Bureau of Fisheries, aided jnaterially in the preparation of the description of 
the methods of fishery. 

6 U. 3. Commission of Fish and Fisheries: Report of the Commissioner for the year ending June 30, 1896. Washington. 1897. 

<: Smith. Huch M.: The mussel fishery and pearl-button industry of the Mississippi River. Bulletin, U. S. Fish Commis- 
sion for 1898, Vol. XVIII, p. 289-314. Washington, 1899. 
38 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 39 

The latest data are found in detailed statistical reports of the Bureau of Fisheries 
covering the territory of mussel fishery by sections." In 191 2 about one-third of the 
territory produced 19,715 tons, valued at $294,606, and another third produced in the 
following year 23,317 tons, at a value of $382,210. The remaining third, including the 
Mississippi River, canvassed for 1914, a year of very poor fishery, yielded 8,539 tons, 
bringing to the fishermen $148,960. It seems a fair estimate that the total production 
of shells varies in different years from 40,000 to 60,000 tons, with a value of from 
$800,000 to upward of $1,000,000 (not including the value of pearls sold). The shells 
consumed in manufacture in 191 2 aggregated 55,671 tons.* 

The territory surveyed for 191 2 comprised the southern portion of the Gulf drainage 
and the southern portion of the Mississippi Basin up to and including the Ohio River 
and up to, but not including, the Missouri or its tributaries. Arkansas was credited 
with nearly one-half of the total production. The average price of shells in Arkansas 
was nearly $20 per ton, but the average ton price for the entire region was $14.94 (1912). 
The territory covered in 191 3 was that north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi. 
The Illinois and Rock Rivers were credited with more than half of the total product 
for this territory and year, and, although the average price of shells in those streams 
was about $14 per ton, the average ton price for the territory and year (1913) was $16.82. 

For 1 91 4 the survey covered the Mississippi River and its tributaries from Kansas 
northward. The Mississippi River produced more than three-fourths of the tonnage, 
and the average price per ton for that river was $19.47 per ton, as against $17.44 average 
ton price for all streams covered in the survey for that year. 

Combining the three surveys, it is found that the average price per ton of all shells 
was $16 for that period. Shells have advanced so materially in price during the years 
from 1 914 to 1 919 that the average price per ton is now about 100 per cent higher. 

The history of the fresh-water mussel fishery since the beginning of the button 
industry has been marked by a continual extension of territory from the point of origin 
on the Mississippi River near Muscatine, Iowa. The rate of spread has been directly 
correlated with the rate of depletion of the more central territory. At various times 
the Wabash, the Ohio, the Illinois, and the rivers of Arkansas (White, Black, and St. 
Francis) have taken turn as the principal seats of mussel fishery. That the spread 
of the fishery has not been to the eastward and southward alone is shown by the fact 
that the fisheries have been prosecuted in South Dakota and Kansas and extensively in 
Minnesota. Unquestionably Lake Pepin in the Mississippi River between Minnesota 
and Wisconsin has recently been yielding a greater quantity of shells per linear mile 
than any other stream or portion of a stream. 

The principal mussel streams are listed in the table following. The total value of 
the pearl and shell product is shown, as well as the year of the survey, and the last 
column indicates what proportion of the total income of the mussel fishery in each stream 
is derived from pearls. The data are taken from the statistical bulletins previously cited. 

a [Fresh-water mussel fishery' of streams tributary to the Gulf of Mexicofrom the Ohio River southward in 1912.] Report, 
U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914, p. 26-30. Washington. 

[Fresh-water mussel fishery of streams tributary to the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers north of the Ohio 
and east of the Mississippi River in 1913.] Report, U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1915, p. 64-69. Washincton. 

(Fresh-water mussel fishery of the Mississippi River and its western tributaries from Kansas northward in 1914.] Report, 
U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1916, p. 55-57. Washington. 

b [Fresh-water pearl-button industry of the United States in 1912.] Report. U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914, p. 
31-34. "Washington. 



40. 



BUlvIvETiN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



River.** 



Mississippi . 

Rock 

Illinois 

White 

Oiiio 

Black 

Wabash. 



State. 



White. East Fork Indiana 



Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri.. 

Wisconsin, Illinois 

Iliinois 

Arkansas 

West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois. 

Arkansas 

Indiana, Illinois 



St. CroLx . 
St. Francis. 

Okaw 

Cumberland.. 



Caddo (Lake) Texas. 

Fox 

Muskingum 

Neosho 

Pecatonica ^ 

Tennessee 



Wisconsin, Minnesota. 

Arkansas 

Illinois 

Tennessee, Kentucky. 



Wisconsin, Illinois. . . 

Ohio 

Kansas, Oklahoma, . . 
Wisconsin, IlUnois. , - 
Tennessee, Alabama , 





Total 




value of 




shell and 




pearl 


Vear. 


products 




to 




fishermen 




at the 




river. 


1914 


$176. «:io 


1913 


150.696 


I9I3 


128,692 


I9I2 


122,748 


1912 


118,891 


I9I2 


68,726 


J9I3 


67,991 


I9I3 


4S.o8o 


I9I3 


37.032 


I9I2 


29,769 


I9I3 


23.970 


I9I2 


22.136 


19:2 


20.000 


I9I3 


15,842 


1912 


14.27s 


1912 


12,063 


I9I3 


III 463 


I9I2 


11 , 061 



Pearl 

products 
in total. 



Per cent, 

29 



6$ 
35 
19 
63 
17 
25 
33 
100 
51 
14 
17 
7 
8 



o Minor tributaries are included with the main stream. 



Minor mussel streams not included in the foregoing table may be classified as 
follows: (i) Those with shell product exceeding pearl product in value and (2) those 
with pearl product greater than shell product. The streams in each of these two classes 
are as follows, the arrangement being alphabetical: 



I. Big Stmflovi'er, Miss.; Blue, 
Kans. ; Bourbeuse, Mo.; Cedar, 
Iowa; Cottonwood, Kans.; Des 
Moines, Iowa; Eel, Ind.; Em- 
barrass, 111.; Grand, Mich.; 
Green, Ky.; Holston, Tenn.; 
Huron and Raisin, Mich.; Iro- 
quois, 111. ; James, S. Dak. ; Kala- 
mazoo, Mich.; Kankakee, Ind. 
and 111.; Little, branch of Red, 



Ark.; Little, branch of St. Fran- 
cis, Ark.; Little Missouri, Ark.; 
Little Wabash, 111.; Maple, 
Mich.; Marais de Cygnes, Mo. 
and Kans.; Maumee, Ohio and 
Ind.; Meramec, Mo.; Minnesota, 
Minn.; Mississinewa, Ind.; Mus- 
kegon, Mich.; Nebraska, Kans.; 
Ouachita, Ark. and La.; Osage, 
Mo. and Kans.; Pearl, Miss, and 



La.; Saline, Ark.; St. Joseph, 
Mich, and Ind.; Shell Rock, 
Iowa; South Skunk, Iowa; Tom- 
bigbee, Ala.; Tuscaravvas, Ohio; 
White, West Fork, Ind.; and 
miscellaneous smaller streams. 
2. Clinch, Tenn.; Duck,Tenn.; 
Iowa, Iowa; Sangamon, 111.; 
and doubtless many creeks. 



There are also probably a few mussel streams, especially in the South, which have 
not yet been surveyed. 

The mussel fishery is pursued more or less actively in the following 1 9 States : 

Mississippi River or westward : South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, 
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ivouisiana, and Texas. 

Mississippi River or eastward: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, 
Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. 

Manufacturing States, such as New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
and Maryland, are indirectly interested in the mussel fishery on account of having 
manufacturing industries based upon the shells received from the mussel streams. 
Thus, at least one-half of the States have an immediate interest in the preservation of 
the mussel resources. 

The accompanying map shows the territory of the fishery and the principal mussel 
streams. 



FRESH- WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 4 1 

SOME LOCAL AND TEMPORARY ASPECTS OF THE FISHERY. 

The mussel fishery is a pemianent and important industry, and in scarcely any 
locality where a shell fishery was once established has it ever been entirely abandoned ; 
yet the intensity of the fishery in any locality may vary from year to year, as it is sub- 
ject to a variety of influences, such as the demand for shells of certain qualities, the 
stages of the river, the condition of local industries or of the button industry, and the 
degree of exhaustion of the material. 

The natural movement of the territory of fishery from regions more or less depleted 
to virgin streams has been discussed on page 39. A limitation upon the rate of expansion 
is imposed by the cost of transportation of the product from its original source to points 
of manufacture; but the principal determining factor in this respect is the quality and 
abundance of the material, since cutting plants will follow the fishery if justified by 
the nature of the available material. There may be given, first, some illustrations of 
the extent of the fishery in certain localities as they have come more or less directly 
under the observation of the writer. 

The statistical bulletins published by the Bureau show the value of the product 
from the several streams, each taken as a whole, but the high productivity of certain 
beds before the process of depletion has advanced is not brought out in such reports. 
In the Illinois River in 1909 there were estimated to be about 2,600 boats engaged in 
the mussel fishery. One hundred or more boats would be engaged upon the same bed 
at one time, and, as a consequence, cutting plants sprang up all along the river. In 
191 1 the writer counted 125 mussel outfits lying idle upon the banks at one point, 
Merdosia, 111., while some 15 or 20 were engaged upon the river at varying distances 
from the town and mostly out of view. The exhaustive effect of the fishery of the three 
years preceding 191 1 accounted in some measure for the number of idle boats. In 1912 
only about 400 boats could find occupation in the mussel fishery on this river, although 
a more effective method of capture (the dip net) had been devised. 

In each of the two years 191 2 and 1913, according to reliable information, about 
$20,000 worth of shells and pearls were marketed at Madison, Ark., a village of about 
300 inhabitants. This represented the product of beds largely depleted but yielding 
shells of high quality. 

In 1910, 1,600 tons of shells, principally niggerheads, were taken in the rapids 
above Keokuk, Iowa, mostly within a stretch of 4 or 5 miles, and these shells represented 
a value of about $30,000. In 191 2 a little over 400 tons were taken in the same region. 
This bed has been lost to the industry since the submergence of the rapids following the 
construction of the dam. 

In the immediate region of I,e Claire, Iowa, and Port Byron, 111., in 1910, about 
700 tons of shells were taken, representing a value of some $14,000. Fishing at Le 
Claire, Iowa, began about 1897, and the large catch of 1910 was due to the condition 
of very low water, enabling the fishermen while wading to pick by hand the shells which 
could not be taken in ordinary stages because of the rocky character of the bottom. 

These are not insignificant figures, considering that the hai-vest was reaped without 
expense of planting or cultivating. Such harvests can not, however, be often repeated, 
since the rate of removal exceeds the rate of natural replenishment. 



42 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 

The variable quality of the several species of mussels is discussed on page i6 of Part 
I in connection with the commercial qualities of shell. Only a word is necessary in this 
connection in regard to the geographic aspect of the subject and its effect upon the 
fishery. The profitableness of shelling in any locality is determined largely by the 
quality of the more abundant species. Some species are nearly always rare, or, at least, 
are never the dominant species of mussel beds. Nevertheless it is a striking feature of 
the mussel fishery that in different streams or in different portions of the same stream 
different species may dominate. We may have niggerhead streams, mucket streams, 
pig-toe streams, etc., but we do not expect to find maple-leaf streams, buckhom streams, 
or butterfly streams, although these forms are widely distributed. 

In that portion of the Mississippi constituting Lake Pepin, the Lake Pepin mucket 
comprises as much as 60 per cent of the catch from many beds, in spite of the large 
number of other common species present. Since this shell as found in Lake Pepin is 
of the best quality in so many respects, the region of the lake may be expected to be 
the scene of active fishery as long as the beds are reasonably productive. 

Certain portions of the Mississippi River may show from 50 to 85 per cent of 
niggerheads against all other species combined. At Le Claire, Pleasant Valley, and 
other points above Davenport, Iowa, 75 or 80 per cent of niggerheads are reported. 
Counts of shell piles above Keokuk, October, 1912, showed 80 per cent niggerheads, 
and 10 per cent monkey -faces, while 7 other species constituted the remaining 10 per 
cent. There were a few discards not included in the count. A similar predominance of 
niggerheads is observed in Arkansas, especially in the White and St. Francis Rivers. In 
the St. Francis near Madison, Ark., in 1913, about 16 species were taken, but 75 per cent 
were niggerheads. In such regions one may expect a steady fishery until the beds are 
nearly exhausted. It is reported that in the lower Pearl River of Mississippi and Louisi- 
ana the niggerheads constitute more than 99 per cent of the mussels in beds that have 
been fished, but the quality of the shell has not been definitely ascertained; if the report 
of percentage is correct, these beds are the most remarkable known for the predomi- 
nance of one species. 

In the Illinois River Danglade " found that in various beds blue-points may con- 
stitute 50 to 60 per cent of the catch, washboards 23 to 50 per cent, and warty-backs 
as much as 3 1 per cent. His observations regarding the river as a whole are succinctly 
expressed by the statement: "The Illinois is distinctly a washboard, blue-point, and 
warty-back river." 

In piles of shells taken near Havana, 111., washboards and blue-points constituted 
95 per cent of the shells, while nine other species constituted the remaining 5 per cent. 
The fortune of the fishery in this stream will necessarily fluctuate with the demand 
for that class of shells, which is not at all constant. At times there may be a strong 
demand for blue-points and washboards for the making of buttons of the larger sizes; 
but, except with such a demand or with an excessive call for the higher-class shells, 
the market will not be the most favorable. 

In the Ohio River, the Ohio River pig-toe may constitute as much as 80 per cent 
of the mussels of a bed, but this species is never in high favor; mixed in with the pre- 
dominant species, there is always a certain number of mussels of other species, some of 
which -may be of superior quality. 

» Danglade, Ernest: The mussel resources of the lUinois River. Appendix VI, Report, U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries 
for 1913, 48 pp., 6 pi. including i map. Washington. 1914. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 



43 



In the Cumberland River " the Ohio River pig-toe is reported to run as high as 
95 per cent of the catch from one bed, while the valuable southern mucket is found 
in the proportion of 40 per cent in some beds in this river. 

An unusual export demand, causing a high price for the best shells, will tend to 
throw the domestic trade back upon second-grade material, and thus stimulate the 
fishery in regions of inferior-shell product. On the other hand, a slack in exports such 
as now prevails makes the best shells more readily available to American manufac- 
turers and discourages the fishery foi poorer shells. 

Taking the principal mussel streams previously listed, we find the average price 
per ton for shells on the bank in the years 1912-1914 to be as follows. These figures 
are of value now only as indicating the relative values of shells from the several rivers. 

Rei^tivb Values op Shells in Various Streams, Based on Surveys of 1912-1914. 



Foot 

White. Arkansas, 

St. Frands 

Muskinguin 

Mississippi 

St. Croix 

White, Indiana. . 

Pecatonica 

Black 



Year. 


Average 




ton price. 




1913 


$33.09 




1913 


30.44 




1913 


30.39 




191a 


30. 00 




1914 


19.47 




I9'3 


1S.87 




1913 


17-79 




1913 


17-31 




1913 


17- 19 





Wabash 

Rock 

llhnois 

Okaw 

Ohio 

Cumberland 
Tennessee. . . 
Neosho 



Year. 



1913 
1913 
1913 
1913 
1913 
1913 
1913 
1913 



Average 
ton price. 



16. SI 
16.01 
14-95 

14.70 

13. gg 

J I. 73 
II. Ig 



Since mussels are alwaj's sold by the ton, it is of interest to note the number of 
shells constituting a ton in selected cases. No general statement is possible, since 
the number necessary to make a ton varies with the species, the size, and the thick- 
ness. The washboard shells of the upper Illinois averaged about a pound a pair, 
while those of the lower river averaged less than half a pound but were of better 
quality. The following counts are selected from a table given by Danglade and from 
counts made by the writer : 



Spedes. 



Locahty. 



Number of 
pairs of siiells 

(from one 

jnussel) per 

ton. 



Washboard 

Do 

Blue-point 

Do 

Warty-back 

Do 

Niggerhead 

Do 

Yellow sand-shell . . . 
Lake Pepin mucket. 



ChiUicothe, HI . . . 

Hardin, III 

ChiUicothe. lU . . 

Hardin, 111 

Meredosia, 111 ... . 

Florence, III 

do 

Clarendon, Ark . . 
Madison. Ark, . . . 
Lake City, Minn . 



3,000 
4,80a 
3,000 
6,800 
14,300 
17, 300 
7.400 

30, 500-37, 000 
6,000 

13,000-14,000 



The table next following shows the number of pairs of shells (equivalent to num- 
ber of mussels) of different species and sizes and from different localities, making a 
ton as weighed and measured at a factory. The data comprised in this table are not 

<• Wilson, Charles B., and Clark, H. Walton: The mussels of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. U. S. Bureau 
of Fisheries Document No. 781, 63 pp., i pi. Washington, 1914. 

110306°— 19 3 



44 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OK FISHERIES. 



Strictly comparable to those in the preceding table, since the preceding table is based 
upon the shells taken frora the river, and many of the smallest shells are lost before 
reaching the factory. 



Species. 



Locality. 



Average size. 




Length. 


Width. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


3.S2 


2. St 


3.50 


2 


.50 


3.00 


2 


44 


3-17 


1 


92 


2.54 


2 


00 


3.00 


2 


4,1 


4-«7 


2 


80 


4-47 


3 


60 


4. 98 


2 


9'; 


3-s6 


2 


Si 


2.9s 


2 


20 


2.SS 


2 


14 


2.23 


2 


00 


2. 10 


2 


00 


4.90 


3 


35 


S. 10 


3 


29 


4-33 


3 


33 


S.7S 


4 


12 


4.40 


3 


10 


4-72 


2 


33 


4.23 


2 


00 



Pairs of 

shells 

per ton. 



Blue-point 

Do 

Butterfly 

Lake Pepin mucket. 

Maple-leaf 

Monkey-face 

Mucket 

Do 

Do 

Niggerhead 

Do 

Do 

Pig-toe 

Pimple-back 

Pocketbook 

Do 

Three-ridge 

Washboard 

Do 

Yellow sand-shell . . . 

Do 



Mississippi River, Grafton, 111 

Sundower River, Miss 

White River, Ark 

Mississippi River, Lake City, Minn . 

White River, Ark 

Mississippi River, Fairport, Iowa . . . 

Fox River, Wis 

Mississippi River. Fairport, Iowa . . . 

Wapsie River. Waverly, Iowa 

Mississippi River, Fairport, Iowa . . . 

Sunflower River, Miss 

White River, Ark 

....do 

do 

Fox River, Wis 

Wapsie River, Waverly, Iowa 

Fox River, Wis 

Mississippi River. Fairport, Iowa , . . 

Mississippi River, Grafton, III 

Mississippi River, Fairxwrt, Iowa . . . 
do 



Number. 
4.500 
5.500 
9,000 
10,000 
11,000 
8,000 
6,800 
S.ooo 
5.500 
4,000 
6,500 
9,000 
13, 000 
16,000 
5,000 
4,000 
4,800 
2,000 
4.S00. 
6,000 
9,000 



Many of the shellers are nomadic and therefore move readily with their launches 
from a region of poor fishery to a better locality. It is often the case, however, that in 
times of low water, when the mussels are easily obtained, the farm hands, miscellaneous 
laborers, and others engage temporarily in shelling, using any kind of available 
equipment or collecting by hand. It is in such cases that good beds are often rapidly and 
seriously depleted. 

A noteworthy difficulty encountered in some places where the quality of shells is 
good is the high cost of transportation. In regions remote from manufacturing centers 
it is therefore advisable to have cutting plants, so that the expense of shipping the waste 
portions of the shell may be obviated. A cutting machine costs about $16. The cost 
of a plant of 12 machines, complete, with all equipment except power, was about $400, 
as computed in 1914. In 1919 a cutting machine of improved type sells for $28 and a 
i2-machine outfit is estimated at $725.° 

DEPLETION OF THE MUSSEL RESOURCES. 

It has been mentioned that the extension of the fishery has been directed by the 
depletion of the mussel beds in the regions first worked. Generally speaking, it may be 
said that no stream or region has been entirely exhausted, but wherever a mussel fishery 
has once existed it has continued in operation to this time, although in reduced activity 
and with much irregularity. 

The history of a shell bed in typical cases may be described. When first fished, 
there is usually a large proportion of very old shells which are coarse and heavy and often 
much eroded. After the first year or two the yield of the bed is chiefly the medium- 

" In referring to values and costs the writer feels obliged throughout this paper to give figures, when available, for both the 
years 1914 and 1919. While it can not be assumed that prices of 1919 are normal, it seems reasonably sure that prices will not 
return to the level of 1914. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 45 

sized shells of the best quality. In the last stages the larger shells constitute a gradually 
decreasing proportion, while the smallest shells, the very infants, indeed, form a steadily 
increasing proportion. Here is a fatal defect of the present manner of fishery. The 
rate of depletion is automatically accelerated, since the fishermen are taking two or three 
for one. Where formerly from 5,000 to 10,000 mussels, more or less, constituted a ton, 
at a later time, when small shells prevail, each ton may represent some 30,000 mussels, 
as has been determined by repeated counts made by the writer in localities where the 
small shells are being marketed. The fact that the sheUer can now take but a few hun- 
dred pounds a day, as against the former catches of half a ton or more, might lead one 
upon first thought to suppose that the beds thus automatically receive a measure of 
protection. The very contrary, however, may in practice be the case. The continued 
rise in price stimulates the sheller to save everything, and the last stages of impoverished 
fishery are thus the more exhaustive. 

When shelling in a depleted locality becomes quite unremunerative, it may be 
practically entirely abandoned and almost forgotten, until after some years, it is found 
that the growth and natural reproduction of the mussels have so replenished the bed that 
it has again become a profitable one, and general shelling is resumed. Usually, however, 
the local shellers keep engaged, though irregularly, upon the same bed, or more exhaustive 
methods are employed, and the cases of natural recuperation are therefore conspicuous 
by their rarity. 

In view of the conditions just described, the Bureau has advocated the compulsory 
closing of portions of rivers for periods of years, in order that the mussel beds might 
have such a condition of rest and freedom from all injurious disturbances that the process 
of replenishment would be assured. It has also urged the adoption of size-limit regula- 
tions which would prevent the needless destruction of the small mussels. With such 
reasonable protective legislation, supplemented, preferably, by artificial propagation, 
the depleted regions generally might be aided to recuperate. Several States have in 
recent years enacted comprehensive mussel laws whose effective enforcement will go 
far to insure the perpetuation of the mussel resources and thereby the permanence of 
the mussel fishery and its dependent manufacturing industries. 

There is no question that all of the better mussel streams are capable of supporting 
mussel resources many times as abundant as they do now, for they did so a score or less 
of years ago. For each stream, therefore, it is merely a question of whether common- 
sense measures will be applied to restore the abundance of mussels for the benefit of 
all or whether they will always exist only as scattering survivals of an over zealous 
fishery. 

The conditions and the measures for protection have been fuUy discussed in other 
publications of this Bureau " and need not be enlarged upon here. It may be said, 
however, that there is no important stream in which the mussel resources now exist 
in anything like their former abundance. There have been published photographs 
showing fishing through the ice in the Mississippi River in the early days, where the 
persons are grouped closely, each one with a considerable pile of shells about the hole 

* Coker, Robert E.: The protection of fresh-water mussels. U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 793, 23 p., 2 pi. 
Washington, 1914. 

Coker, Robert E.: The utilization and preservation of fresh-water mussels. Transactions American Fisheries Society, 
Vol. XL VI, No. I, New York, 1916. 

Smith, Hugh M.: Fresh-water mussels. Economic Circular No. 43, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries. 5 p. Washington, 1919. 



46 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

through which he worked with a rake." Such photographs could not be duplicated 
now, for each sheller would have to work a large area, and probably no considerable 
quantity of shells could be taken without more ice cutting than the value of the product 
would justify, even at the higher unit prices prevaiUng. The practice of winter shelling 
has, therefore, been discontinued. 

APPARATUS AND METHODS OF FISHERY. 

BAR AND CROWFOOT HOOKS. 

Principle of Capture. — This method of mussel fishery is the one in most general 
use to-day, since it is adapted for the greatest variety of conditions, is easily operated 
even by the inexperienced, and the construction and maintenance involve slight 
expense. The method is based on the characteristic habits of fresh-water mussels, 
which lie habitually half embedded in the bottom, with the hinder end of the shell 





Fig. I.— Various types of crowfoot hooks. 

directed against the current and slightly gaping. If a stick or hook be inserted into 
the opening of the shell, the mussel at once closes tightly and will hold for a long time, 
even while being dragged over the bottom and hauled up to the boat. Mussels are thus 
sometimes accidentally taken on ordinary fishhooks, while pearl fishermen working in 
shallow water have^long employed a sharpened stick that could be inserted into the 
opening of the individual mussel. The more elaborate apparatus now used was first 
brought to the notice of the rivermen of the upper Mississippi early in the spring of 
1897, and its use soon spread throughout all of the commercial shell districts. 

Description of Apparatus. — The crowfoot apparatus consists essentially of a 
bar or brail to which many short Unes are attached bearing four-pronged wire hooks 
arranged at intervals (PI. XXVII, fig. i). By means of a towing line the bar is dragged 
above the bottom, while the hooks trail on the mussel bed in a direction parallel to the 
current. When a hook enters a shell opening, the mussel closes firmly upon the hook, 

a Smith, Hugh M.: The mussel fishery and pearl-button industry of the Mississippi River. Bulletin. U.S. Fish Commis- 
sion for 1898, Vol. X\1II, p. 289-314. Washington. 1899. (See plates 67 and 68.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XX\ai. 




Fig. I. — Bar and crowfoot outfit fur taking mussels, consisting of John boat, two bars with crowfoot hooks, aud the "mule" 

(lying on stern of boat}. (See p. 46.) 




Fig. 3.— Shore outfit, consisting of cooker (at leftj, sorting table (center), and shells ready for sale. (See p. 60.) 



FRESH- WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL, INDUSTRIES. 



47 



and in consequence is dragged from the bottom. When the bar is raised after a suitable 
time, numerous mussels may be hanging from the hooks. The essential parts of this 
apparatus and the manner of its operation will be described in detail. 

Hooks and mode of making them. — Although the principle of the crowioot and the 
general method of manufacture are the same throughout the country, there is much 
variety in the style and size of hooks in use on the different rivers, and even in the same 
camps. Some of the most popular kinds of hooks are the single-eye, the double-eye, 
the ring, the wrapped, the untwisted or straight-wire hook, etc. (fig. i). Manufactured 
hooks are obtainable on the market, but the mussel fishermen more commonly make 
their own hooks, employing odd moments for this purpose with a corresponding saving 
in expense. 

The material is usually No. 1 1 galvanized or telephone wire. If very heavy work 
is to be done, a larger size, No. 9 or 10, may be taken, although hooks from the stiff er 



\ A 




Fig. 2. — Process of making crowfoot hook. 

wire are more difllcult to make and cause more trouble when the apparatus is fouled 
on the bottom; the bar may be entirely lost from a hang-up if the hooks will not 
straighten out before the line breaks. 

To make a hook one needs only a bench, an iron vise, or, preferably, an iron strap 
or steel plate with proper holes drilled through, a pair of pliers, and a pin or short rod 
for the twisting process (fig. 2). 

The iron strap or steel plate is usually from 6 to 8 inches long by 1.5 inches 
wide and 0.25 inch thick. Near one end four holes of sufficient size to admit the wire 
are drilled in the comers of a 0.75-inch square. Two or three additional holes are 
drilled in the opposite end of the plate, so that it may be fastened securely to a solid 
block, timber, or tressel of wood, leaving the end with the four small holes free. The 



48 



BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



wire is first cut into lengths of about 10.5 or 1 1 inches, or up to 14 inches for extra long 
hooks (fig. 3). The"needles" thus made are then bent into " hairpins " or loops, with the 
sides parallel or nearly so. Two loops are placed diagonally into the small holes of the 
square and are forced down to the face of the plate, leaving just room enough for the 
turning pin. The twisting is done by hand and continued until there is about i inch of 
straight wire remaining in the plate. The hook is withdrawn and is complete, excepting 
that the ends must be cut off at even lengths and bent to the desired angle with pliers 
or with a piece of hollow umbrella tube. In making the single-eye hook one loop is 
placed half an inch in advance of the other, when they are introduced into the iron 
strap. In order to obtain the best results in making hooks, the holes in the plate should 
be kept well greased. The process is well illustrated by figure 2, while some of the 
various patterns of hooks made by the mussel fishermen are shown in figure i . 



Fig. 3.— Stages in the process of making crowfoot book; "needles," "Iiairpins. " and nearly completed hooks. 

Bar and lines. — The bar, or brail, consists of a black or galvanized iron gas pipe 
from 12 to 20 feet in length and with a diameter of from 0.75 to i inch (PI. XXVII, 
fig. i). Caps are used or wooden pegs are driven into the open ends of the pipe to keep 
out the water; otherwise the bar would fill with water and cause an undesirable slop 
when raised to the standards of the boat. The bars are occasionally supported by 
small wheels at the ends, to prevent the bar from disturbing the mussels before the 
hooks have reached them. This is generally unnecessary, because, while the boat is in 
motion, the bar is slightly raised from the river bottom, and only the hooks can touch 
the mussels. On a few rivers a wooden bar is used by some mussel fishermen, but it 
does not appear to be so popular or to give as satisfactory results as the iron bar. 

The strings or lines for carrying the hooks consist usually of soft trot-lines of No. 96 
or 120 size, and are about 3 feet in length. They are attached to the bar at intervals of 
from 4 to 6 inches by a half-hitch knot, which is easily tied and readily loosened if a new 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 49 

string is to be substituted. The soft line wears better than any other kind, especially 
where the bottom has much sand and gravel. Chains, or long wire links, are sometimes 
used in place of the cotton twine, but, although they last much longer, they are not 
often employed, owing to the extra weight and cost. Each line carries from two to six 
hooks, attached at intervals of sufficient distance to prevent successive hooks from 
interfering with one another. 

The bridle is a small-sized rope, about 0.5 inch in diameter, and is attached to the 
bar near the ends. It is left loose, so that it may be tied to the main rope about 2 feet 
above the middle of the bar. 

The main rope, or cable, is larger, being usually about 0.75 or i inch in diameter, 
while its length varies according to the depth of water, generally from 25 to 35 feet 
being required. The rope is tied to the middle of the bar and to the center of the bridle. 
To obviate difficulty from twisting and to make the rope available when desired for 
other purposes, the attachment to the bridle is usually made by a swivel snap and ring. 

The mule. — An essential feature of the outfit with this method of fishery, under 
ordinary conditions, is the underwater sail or mule, as it is called. When the mussel 
fisherman is ready for work and the boat is over the shell bed, the bar is thrown over- 
board. The hooks of the bar catch in the river bottom, as well as in the shells, and thus, 
acting as anchors, will stop the progress of the boat downstream, unless additional power 
is supplied. In order to derive this power from the current, the mule is lowered into 
the river at the stem of the boat, to which it is connected by guide lines. Its broad 
surface is at right angles to the current, and the entire outfit is thus forced slowly down 
the river, stern first, in spite of the drag on the bottom. By means of the guide lines 
the mule is easily regulated to steer the boat at a desired angle over the mussel bed, or 
to avoid a familiar snag. 

There are two well-known types of mules in use on the different rivers — the common 
frame type and the roll mule. 

The frame type is rectangular in form, the outline or framework consisting of light 
strips or narrow boards about 3 inches wide by 0.75 of an inch thick, sometimes with a 
center strip extending from the middle of the bottom to a few inches above the top. In 
Plate XXVII, figure 1, a mule is shown lying on the stem of the boat; see also Plate 
XXIX, figure i. The frame is covered with strong cloth, such as muslin, canvas, tar- 
pauHn, gunny sacking, etc., which is left rather baggy in order to make the appliance 
more steady in the water; otherwise when the current strikes it at an angle it is liable 
to turn over, dart forward, and "kick." This characteristic accounts for its technical 
designation as "mule." It is connected to the boat by lines running from the four 
comers, excepting for those patterns having the center strip, when three connections 
are made with the lower corners and the top of the strip. 

The roll mule is not used so extensively as the frame type, but it is very popular 
on the Illinois and some other rivers. It consists of a piece of canvas, tarpaulin, or 
heavy cloth cut according to the size and shape desired. An iron rod is attached to the 
bottom of the mule and a wooden bar at the top. To the four comers of the cloth small 
lines are secured for the purpose of adjusting the mule to the boat. This form of mule 
has the advantage over the other in that when not needed as a sail it can be rolled up 
and put out of the way in the boat or used as a tent against unfavorable weather. It is 



50 BULLETIN OP The bureau op fisheries. 

claimed that it is better adapted for steering the boat diagonally, and also that it does 
not kick. 

There is much variety in the form and size of the mules, which are made according 
to the notions of the individual fisherman or in adaptation to the condition of the river. 
In a shallow stream the necessary surface is obtained by making the mule long and 
narrow, at times about 8 feet long by 15 inches deep. For deeper waters the sizes vary 
according to the strength of current and the drag of the bar; 2.5 by 6 feet and 3 by 7 
feet are common sizes. 

Boats. — The most satisfactory boat in use for the crowfoot method of fishery is 
the ordinary John boat, since it is inexpensive and may be made in the camps by the 
mussel fishermen themselves, according to their needs. Its length is from 14 to 20 
feet, with a width at the center of from 3 to 4.5 feet, but it is always narrower at the 
ends. It has square ends, a broad, flat bottom, long rakes particularly forward, and is 
usually of light draft (PI. XXVII, fig. i). 

When the John boat is built particularly for this method of fishery, all unnecessary 
interior parts are omitted, while the needed special appliances are added. These con- 
sist of two perpendicular uprights or standards on each side of the boat a yard or so 
from the ends, a cleat at the bow, and nails or pegs at the stern. The standards are 
about 4 feet high and are made of light strips of wood, with notches at the top for holding 
the bars. When the shelling is very heavy and the bars are difficult to raise, there are 
added at times substandards or short strips of wood projecting outward from the stand- 
ards near the gunwale; in this case the bars when lifted are first placed upon the sub- 
standards and then transferred to the standards. At the present time nearly all of the 
John boats are equipped with gasoline engines of power commensurate with the size of 
the boats. In the Black River, Ark., some of the John boats are propelled by small 
stem paddle wheels operated by hand power with a vertical lever on the side of the boat. 

Operation of the Crowfoot Bar. — When the john boat and all the appliances 
are complete for this method of fishery, the boat is either rowed or propelled by gaso- 
line power to the mussel bed upon which the work is to be done. After selecting the 
exact locality for the first haul, usually near the head of the bed, the mussel fisherman 
lowers a bar into the river in such a way that it will lie at right angles to the shore 
and drag parallel with it. The rope connecting the bar is played out until the latter is 
dragging freely and is then secured to the cleat. Occasionally two bars are used at 
the same time ; the second bar being placed into the water a short distance in advance 
of the first and a little to one side, with a shorter rope connection. 

Unless the current be very strong, which is seldom the case where a good mussel 
bed is found, it is necessary to bring the mule into operation; and this can be so ad- 
justed by the guide lines as to make the outfit go very slowly or more rapidly as desired, 
as well as to cause the boat to sheer toward or away from the shore. 

After making a haul of about 100 yards the bar is ready to be raised. The method 
of procedure is to remove the mule from the water and then slowly draw in the connecting 
rope until the bar can be grasped by the hands and raised to the tops of the notched 
standards. The other bar is put into the river, and the mule is again set. The shells 
are then taken from the hooks and are thrown into the bottom of the boat. The process 
is repeated until the bed has been worked over, when the boat is returned to the initial 
point or taken ashore, if a boatload of shells has been obtained. 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XXVIII. 




pjQ I.— Barge with long crowfoot bars, employed on the Oliio lUver. Note rollers set on ends of bars to facilitate movement 

over the bottom. (Seep. 51.) 




Fig. j.— Lowering the (.ro\vtout bar mto the water, Ohio River. (See p. 51.) 



FRESH -WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 5 1 

Besides mussels the hooks bring up snags, small logs, and an almost unlimited 
variety of articles that have found their way into the river. There may be a greater 
or less number of larger hang-ups and other obstructions in the river, which may cause 
delay or the loss of a complete bar. No work is attempted in windy weather, ordinarily, 
on account of the trouble of handling the boat and the consequent danger of becoming 
entangled in the hooks or of being dragged overboard. 

Where no current prevails, as in Lake Pepin, the propulsion of the boat was formerly 
accomplished by dropping an anchor with a very long cable attached to a windlass on 
the boat. The boat was then propelled away to a point where the bar was dropped. 
Turning the windlass by hand, the boat and bar were dragged over the mussel bed. The 
engine power itself was regarded as too violent, as well as too expensive, for the rate 
of movement desired in dragging. Now, however, the shellers on Lake Pepin generally 
use two boats, a flat boat attached broadside against the stem of a motor boat, T fashion. 
In this way two or even four bars may be dragged on the bottom at the same time, 
employing the motive power of the engine. 

It is interesting to note that when this method was first brought into use in 1897, 
the parts of the apparatus were small and the method of employment crude. The bar 
was only from 4 to 8 feet long, provided witli 16 or more hooks, and dragged by a rope 
from the stem of the boat. Two men usually operated in partnership, one man hand- 
ling the apparatus, while the other rowed the outfit laboriously over the mussel beds. The 
hand motive power was later improved by the use of a driftboard or mule. By chance 
it was discovered that a similar effect was had when the boat was allowed to drift 
broadside to the current. Although this method is still used in some places, it has not 
gained general favor with the mussel fishermen, probably because, when the boat is 
used broadside, there is more or less danger of dipping water or swamping. 

When the boat is used broadside, a series of cleats are placed on the gunwales 
of the boat in the middle portions. If a drag rope is attached to the middle cleat, the 
pull of the drag will be directly opposed to the current. If, however, it is desired to 
steer away from the shore, it is only necessary to shift the rope to another cleat, shore- 
ward, or channelward, as the case may be, and the resultant force of the current is in 
the direction desired. If there is not sufficient force in the current to move the boat 
fast enough, a leeboard, or mule, may be used as readily as with the ordinary fore-and-aft 
position of the boat. 

For work on a much larger scale than can be accomplished by means of the ordi- 
nary-sized boats there are occasionally employed heavy barges of a type illustrated in 
Plate XXVIII. These are used successfully on the Ohio River, near Vevay, Ind., 
and, though somewhat similar in construction to the usual John boat, they are much 
larger and more solidly built; the dimensions are, approximately, 10 by 40 feet. The 
barge is fitted with uprights and pulleys for handUng the bars and with standards 
for holding them when raised. There are 4 bars 20 feet in length by 1.25 inches in 
diameter, to each of which are attached 76 strings, bearing 7 hooks each, thus making 
more than 2,000 hooks for the entire outfit. In operating this contrivance the bars 
at the opposite comers are lowered alternately into the river, so that as far as prac- 
ticable two bars are always in the water. Because of the weight and the resistance of 
the bars on the bottom, a very large mule is used during a good stage of water or in 



52 BUIvLETiN OP The bureau OP FISHERIES. 

a strong current. In the low water of summer a mule is of no avail ; at this season of 
the year a cable 400 to 500 yards in length is used, one end of which is anchored down 
the river, while the other is hauled through a pulley by means of a two-horsepower 
gasoline engine, located near the center of the barge. The engine is also employed 
to assist in raising the bars from the mussel beds. The barge is towed from place to 
place by a small gasoline boat alongside or at the stem. By this method three men 
have been known to gather 3 tons of shells in a day in favorable localities in the Ohio 
River. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Method. — Except where snags are preva- 
lent, good success is had with the bar and crowfoot under a wide variety of conditions. The 
daily catch probably averages less than 500 pounds of marketable shells. In severely 
depleted regions only 100 to 200 pounds may be taken, while a half ton or more may 
reward the fisherman in better localities. The fishermen claim that the mussels or clams 
bite best in the spring of the year, on rising water, and early in the morning. 

A serviceable John boat could be made in 1914 at a cost of from $10 to $15; and 
the bars, hooks, and lines at from $5 to $6 per pair; the necessary ropes cost from $2 
to $3, making a total of from $17 to $24. However, if an engine of suitable power is 
installed in the boat an additional amount of about $50 to $100 should be added to 
the above sum. On the basis of the prices of materials in 1919, these costs appear 
approximately as follows: Boat, $23; bar, hooks, and lines, $10; ropes, $3; total, 
excluding boat engine, $36. 

The method has these advantages: It is inexpensive, and not necessarily laborious; 
it is adapted fot use in deeper waters where the hand rake or the tongs can not be used 
successfully, and it can be employed readily by the inexperienced. 

The disadvantages of the crowfoot are not so obvious but are very important 
nevertheless : 

1. The mussel beds are repeatedly dragged over by hundreds and thousands of hooks, 
with consequent possible injury to the mussels, especially the young. Gravid mussels, 
it is known, will often abort the immature spawn when disturbed. 

2. Some mussels, after taking on the hooks, are pulled off while yet on the bottom 
with more or less injury. Experiments conducted at the Fairport station indicate that 
a large percentage of such mussels receive injuries from which they die. A considerable 
number of mussels were taken by hooks and by rakes; each set of mussels was divided 
into four lots, which were carefully balanced against one another in experimental ponds. 
After two months 38 per cent of the crowfooted mussels and only 5 per cent of the 
raked mussels had died. 

3. The hooks take exceedingly small mussels, even down to 0.75 to i inch in length, 
which are not only useless for any economic purpose but are liable to a heightened mor- 
tality when thrown back into the river. The use of larger wire for the hook has been sug- 
gested, with a view to lessening the number of small mussels taken. 

There are two or three designs of patented hooks on the market, and it is claimed that 
they have advantages over the ordinary kinds made by the mussel fishermen. One 
design, invented by the late J. F. Boepple, is like the ordinary twisted-wire hook, except 
that the wire prongs are compressed near the tips and finally expanded to form a ball or 
globular tip larger than the diameter of the wire. When the ball enters the opening of the 
mussel, the shell closes on the compressed neck, and it is very difficult for the mussel 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 53 

to fall off with the subsequent dragging on the bottom. These hooks are also slightly 
weighted by a wire wrapping at the lower end of the shank, and a dip in melted solder 
makes the entire hook less liable to untwist. Another hook, lately brought to the at- 
tention of the public and known as the " sanco-point " hook, has five prongs made in 
one piece and attached by means of a swivel to a center shaft. The tips are also glob- 
ular to make a so-called locking device intended to prevent the escape of the captured 
mussels. For both of these designs, it is claimed that the small mussels are not captured on 
account of the enlarged tips, and that when the ordinary-sized mussels are once caught 
they do not fall off the hooks, so that no injured mussels are left in the beds." These 
claims remain to be effectively demonstrated; but such improvements are eminently 
desirable and worthy of careful test, for there is no question but that the ordinary 
crowfoot hook is distinctly injurious and that its use should be permitted only for a 
brief time, allowing opportunity for effectively improving it or displacing it altogether 
with other equally efficient apparatus. 

Meantime, mussel fishemien everywhere are urged to learn the use of other methods, 
for it is evident that an injurious mode of fishing will not be tolerated indefinitely. The 
shellers themselves will recognize the propriety of excluding from use, wherever it can be 
replaced, an appliance which is actually destructive of shells that are not taken or that 
can not be marketed when captured. Various other methods now in practical use will 
be described in the following pages. 

DIP-NET DRAG. 

Origin of The Method. — The dip net, as used in shelling was invented and intro- 
duced during the spring of 1911 at Peoria, 111. It had long been known that Peoria Lake — 
that part of the IlHnois River which broadens into a lakeHke expanse above the dam at 
Peoria — contained large beds of commercial mussel shells of good quality, but previous to 
19H no suitable method of taking them had been devised. The various tools and ap- 
pliances, as the bar and crowfoot hooks, tongs, scissor forks, •etc., which had been 
operated so successfully in other mussel rivers of the Mississippi Basin and in the major 
portion of this river, proved unsatisfactory in Peoria Lake. There was urgent need for 
some contrivance that would collect the shells in deeper water, where practically no cur- 
rent prevailed, and the dip net came to fill this want. 

It is not known who invented this appliance, but probably the idea developed by a 
combination of the principles of the ordinary dip net as used in fishing and the clam rake. 
At the present time this apparatus is used in Peoria Lake almost exclusively, none other 
being employed, except in places where the bottom conditions are unfavorable for the 
, operation of the dip net. Within very recent years its use has extended to other parts 
of the lUinois River and to Lake Pepin. One dip net was seen on the White River of 
Arkansas in 191 3, but it had not been put into use. 

The dip net is simple in construction, and in operation; it is also inexpensive and 
especially suited to those rivers and lakes which have soft mud bottoms free from 
obstructions, such as logs and hang-ups, and where there is but little or no current. 

Description oe Apparatus. — ^There appears to be no definite standard or general 
specifications for this mechanism, and consequently there are no two alike; the black- 

a Several tests made by J. B.Southall, shell expert of the Fairport station, indicate that about 30 per cent of the mussels 
catching on ordinary books are lost, while only about 15 per cent of the mussels catching on the Boepple hooks drop off. 



54 



BULLETIN Olf The BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 



smiths make them according to orders and with the material at hand. However, the 
various designs and patterns are very similar, the main differences being the size of the 
hoop and the length of the attached net. The method of operation is the same for all 
of them. 

The frame of the dip net consists of a heavy iron hoop of one piece flattened on 
one side. The general form, therefore, is somewhat triangular, the bottom being 
straight, while the two sides are curved and attached by bolts to a pole or handle i6 to 
20 feet long (fig. 4 in text and Pi. XXIX, fig. 4). A large net of 2-inch mesh, made of 
small chain or trot-line and having a capacity of a bushel or more, is fastened to the 
hoop by means of chain links, and trails behind it. A short bridle attached to the two 




Fig. 4.— The dip net used in taking fresh-water mussels. 

curved sides of the hoop lead forward to a single rope secured to the bow of the boat. 
To withstand the strain from dragging through the water and also to support the net 
with a heavy load of shells, the hoop is usually made of stout wagon-tire iron, about 2 
inches wide by 0.25 inch thick. The straight bottom is from 18 to 36 inches in length; 
the edge is bent downward and usually provided with coarse teeth 6 to 8 inches long, 
and at times two or three additional teeth are riveted to the curved sides, near the 
bottom. However, in some hoops the teeth are omitted altogether, since none are needed 
where the bottom of the river is composed of very soft mud. The net varies in length 



Bull. U. R. B. F., 1917-15 



Plate XXIX. 




Fig. I.— Shell tonus or scissors fork. The 

"mule" (in foregioimd) is not used 

with tongs, but in connection with 

crowfoot bars (in background). (See 
p. 56.) 








Fig. 



-Two shell tongs (at left) and two shoulder rakes (at right). Note 
drift boards attached to handles of rakes. (See p. 56.) 



-Takine mussels with the shell 
tongs. (See p. 56.) 




I'tG. 4. — Dip net and forks with shore equipment. (See p. 54.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 55 

from 3 to 4.5 feet, according to the size of the hoop ; when not made of chain, it is usually 
tarred to insure longer life. Soft twine is preferred to hard twine ; the sizes used range 
from 36 to 96, but the latter size is the one generally employed. 

Power is a very important factor in the use of the dip net. The boat and engine, 
in fact, govern the size of the appliance, since it would be useless to work with a large 
dip net and very little power. Any ordinary John boat or launch, which the sheller 
may have, can be readily fitted up for use. Uprights or standards on the boat, as 
well as the mule, can be dispensed with. The engines are of the gasoline type and are 
from 4 to 20 horsepower. 

The cost of the complete dip net, including the necessary ropes, is about $5 to $7, 
depending upon the size. Considering the good results obtained by this method of 
mussel fishery, together with the durability of the apparatus, the first cost is very 
small, indeed. 

Operation of Dip Net. — To operate a boat successfully, two men or a man and 
a boy are needed; one attends to the dip net and the steering, while the other looks 
after the engine and assists with the shells. When the boat is over the mussel bed, and 
running at full speed, the operator stands in the stem and steers with his foot or leg 
while manipulating the dip net with his hands. The apparatus is put into the water, 
usually at his right side, and when it reaches the bottom he bears down heavily on the 
handle. The towing line is attached, as previously mentioned, to the bridle at one 
end and to the. bow of the boat at the other. The dip net, therefore, functions as a 
dredge, while the pole is handled by the fisherman in the stern in such a way as to change 
the angle of the net and cause it to dig into the bottom more or less deeply. Physical 
energy and endurance are required on the part of the operator, if the dip net is large 
and the power strong. 

If the water be rather deep or the boat very short, the angle formed by the towing 
line and the upright handle may be too sharp for proper manipulation. In this case a 
boom pole is rigged out from the bow and a longer line attached to its forward end. 

The teeth on the lower edge of the hoop dig up the mussels, which, due to the motion 
of the boat, roll into the net. Unless the net is placed at the stem in direct line of 
travel, the boat is retarded on one side and consequently makes a large circle over the 
mussel beds; this is usually desired. When the apparatus is raised after making a haul, 
the mud and small shells are washed out as well as can be done rapidly, and the contents 
are dumped into the bottom of the boat. The partner attends to the sorting out of the 
mussels, the trash and some of the dead shells being thrown overboard. 

By this method of mussel fishery two men or a man and a boy have been known to 
take from 1,500 to 1,800 pounds of shells in half a day in a good locality. 

Advantages ok the Dip-net Method. — The dip-net appliance is strongly recom- 
mended to the attention of mussel fishermen, as it is especially adapted for use on soft- 
mud bottoms and in waters which are without strong current and also where the depth 
is too great or the mussels too scattering for the successful operation of the rake or 
tongs. It may also be employed where there is a good current, providing the bottom 
conditions are satisfactory. 

The method will be at a disadvantage in very hard or gravelly bottoms or where 
there are numerous obstructions; in the first case the net will become overloaded with 
rocks, and in the second the progress will be stopped altogether. 



56 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 

It is well to point out that the meshes of the net should be of such a size as to per- 
mit the small shells to pass through and remain at the bottom. Some small mussels 
will undoubtedly be held in the net by the mud and larger shells, but these can be culled 
out readily and returned to the water without any material injury. 

It may be noted that occasionally some of the thinner-shelled mussels, such as the 
floater, paper-shell, etc., are pierced by the teeth of the dip net, which, of course, kills 
the mussel. These shells, however, are not now of any commercial value. 

SHOULDER RAKE. 

The shoulder rake can be used to advantage in comparatively swift water, espe- 
cially when the bottom is not too hard and is free from hang-ups such as rocks and 
sunken logs. The implement consists of a metal rake about i foot long and provided 
with lo to 12 coarse teeth or curved tines, which may be about 9 inches long (PI. XXIX, 
fig. 2). The rake is securely bolted to a wooden handle 15 to 20 feet long, its length 
being adapted to the depth of water. A basket, made of poultry-wire netting, is 
attached to the rake and handle in such a way as to afford a concave receptacle for 
the shells. A small board, about 10 inches by 2 feet, is usually fastened to the handle 
approximately i yard from the base. The method of operation is rather simple, 
though laborious. The boat in which the work is carried on is anchored over the 
mussel bed, and the rake is placed into the river at the head of the boat and slowly 
worked down to the stem, when it is raised to the surface. The shells are thrown into 
the boat. The board attached to the handle offers resistance to the current, and 
thus is of considerable assistance in raising the rake, as well as in driving it down- 
stream over the bed; it therefore has the same function of an underwater sail as the 
mule used in crowfooting, but the power of the current acts only upon the rake, 
and not upon the boat. The shoulder rake may be made from a coke fork. The tines 
are cut to the desired length, heated, and bent at right angles to the handle. A long 
handle must, of course, be substituted for the short handle of the coke fork. 

The results of this method are generally satisfactory, if the shells are relatively 
abundant. Small shells inadvertently taken can be thrown back with assurance, 
generally, that they will live. 

The shoulder rake is a common implement on the Mississippi River and other 
streams. On the St. Francis River, Ark., it is the principal method employed in the 
summer and fall, while the crowfoot is chiefly used in the high water of spring. The 
fork, to be described later, is also used in very low water. 

SHELL TONGS. 

The shell tongs, or scissor forks, are used to some extent on the upper Mississippi, 
the Cumberland, the White, and some other rivers where the work can be carried on 
satisfactorily in rather deep water. It is possible, of course, to work between the free 
spaces of a series of logs or other obstructions. It is essentially a grapple, consisting 
of two rakes, or forks, on the ends of long handles which are pivoted together about 2 
feet from the lower end, after the fashion of a pair of scissors (Pi. XXIX, figs, i, 2, 
and 3). The method of its operation is similar to that of the oyster tongs; the appli- 
ance is lowered into the water from an anchored boat, then by bearing down on the 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-1S. 



Plate; XXX. 




Flci. I.— The JicJtc rculy lo Iju luwciwl into llie water, BI.kIc Rivtr. Ark. (See p. 57.) 




Fig. 2. The dreciee resting ou gunwales uf two buats forming the catajnarim from which it is operated. (See p. 57.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 



57 



handles and working them together the forks are forced into the bottom and closed on 
the mussels. When it is closed, the handles are held together while the implement is 
raised hand over hand to the surface; after washing out the surplus mud and sand by 
a vertical motion the shells are dumped itito the boat. 

FORK. 

Occasionally a common fork is used in the smaller streams, more especially during 
the low water of summer. The tool generally employed for this purpose is the coal 
or coke fork, such as is shown in figure 5. The manner of working with the fork is 
similar to that of spading a garden. The operator wades into the water from the shore 
or from his boat and begins to fork over the mussel bed systematically. On bringing 
each load to the surface of the river, the sand and mud are washed from the fork by 
dipping it a number of times into the water; the shells are thrown into the boat, which 
is always kept near by. Since it is much easier to go with the current, the shelters 
usually work downstream, and in consequence have more or less 
muddy water to contend with. 

The method often yields good results, but involves more or less 
exposure to the water. It is not particularly to be commended, since 
the complete digging up of the beds is detrimental to the smaller mus- 
sels, as well as to the bed itself; the sand and mud of the bottom, to a 
certain extent at least, are carried away by the current to be depos- 
ited lower down in the river's course. 

Since the fork can be employed only in very shallow water and 
during warm weather, its use is consequently limited and irregular. 
It may be found in use during low stages on the St. Francis River, 
Ark., the Wabash River near Vinceimes, Ind., and in various isolated 
localities. 

DREDGE. 




Fig. s.— The fork used 
in taking fresh-water 
mussels in shallow 
water. 



The dip net is sometimes referred to as a dredge. There is also 
a typical mussel dredge that has been in limited use in Arkansas 
since 191 2. While this dredge requires a greater initial outlay than 
the simpler forms of apparatus previously described, it offers much promise as a profit- 
able method of taking mussels. The apparatus is well shown in the accompanying pho- 
tographs (PI. XXX, figs. I and 2) and requires but a brief description. 

The dredges are of various dimensions; of the two particularly observed, one was 
1 8 by 24 inches, the other 36 by 72 inches. The dredge may be described as composed 
of two heavy, long-toothed rakes with the iron handles so pivoted together scissors 
fashion that the two rakes when closed or brought together, form an oblong basket. 
Each half of the smaller dredge was 18 by 24 inches, the tines being 8 inches long and 
made of five-eighth inch square iron, pointed at the free ends. The remainder of the 
basket was made of flat iron about i inch wide. The dredge is operated between two 
boats firmly attached together by cross decking at the ends, but with a suitable space 
left between them. 

In Plate XXX, the lower figure shows the larger dredge, 3 by 6 feet, spread, and 
held in this position by dogs on one side; it is resting across the boat. When the dredge 
is to be lowered, it is raised by the windlass until free of the boat, then swung around 



58 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 

by hand to a fore-and-aft position (PI. XXX, upper figure); it is then lowered into 
the water by unwinding the windlass. The line from the windlass passes through a 
block overhead (not shown in the picture) and down to the bridle of the dredge. The 
two pulleys through which the bridle passes should be noted on the ends of the dredge 
handles. When the brake on the windlass is thrown off, the dredge falls to the 
bottom, and the dog releases automatically. The dredge now rests on the bottom, 
covering a space 3 by 6 feet, with the tines of the two ends sticking into the substratum. 

The first effect of turning the windlass, after taking up the slack, is to lift the ends of 
the handles and bring them together, thus causing the dredge to dose. As the dredge 
closes, the tines thoroughly rake the bottom, and when completely closed every mussel 
and rock in the space covered, except those so small as to pass through the openings, are 
taken in the basket. Continued winding of the windlass brings the dredge out of the 
water, when it can be lowered into one of the boats and opened. All debris must be 
sorted out and thrown away. A small hand rake, like a flower rake, is used to clear the 
small stones which may have been wedged between the tines. In view of the contin- 
gency that the dredge may be fouled by a log or heavy stone, it is necessary to have a 
clearing line attached to one end of the dredge. A small windlass must be used to operate 
this line if the dredge is very heavy. The effect of hauling on this line is to open the 
dredge, which may have been partly closed, and bringitup to the surface; the haul is of 
course lost in such a case. Heavy dredges are more effective than the light ones. 

The cost of the larger dredge was $65 complete, with boats and all ; but there was 
very small expense for labor, as the work was done during the slack season and largely 
by the owner. The ordinary complete cost of such an outfit would be $100 or more. 

If the openings between the tines are wide enough, the small shells will not be re- 
moved from the bottom. Comparing the dredge with the crowfoot drag, it may be 
noted that the latter takes mussels by chance and that repeated dragging over the same 
bottom is necessary to make an approximately clean catch, while the former makes a 
dean haul of only the mussels large enough to be taken. It will be seen, therefore, that 
the crowfoot apparatus, although less effective over a given small portion of bottom, is 
actually more destructive to the young mussds. 

An entirdy new form of dredge has recently been invented, which is operated by 
power and brings the mussds continuously from the bottom by means of an endless 
chain and buckets. No detailed description can be given at this time. 

LOCAL MODIFICATIONS OF METHODS. 

Various other forms of apparatus have been devised at different times and put into 
temporary use, but none of them seems to have won a place in the established methods of 
fishery. There are many local variations of the typical methods described, but it is 
not practicable to describe them all. Two spedal modifications of the use of the coke 
fork and of the basket rake were thus described as used in the James River in 191 3 : " 

The mussels [at Riverside, S. Dak.] were gathered with a coke or coal fork, having a piece of 2 by 4 
lumber fastened to the handle, the length of this piece being according to the depth of the river. This 
fisherman had a novel way of anchoring his boat. At each end of the boat a hole was bored through the 
bottom large enough to insert a piece of 1.5-inch pipe, making a water-tight joint. These perpendicular 

a Coker. R. E., and Southall, J. B.: Mussel resources in tributaries of the upper Missouri River. Appendix IV, Report, 
D. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914, 17 p., 1 pi., i map. Washington, 1913. 



Bull. U. S. B. F., ioi7-t«^- 



Plate; XXXI. 




Fig. I.— Mussel boats on Rock River Pool at Government locks, a few miles above the month of the river, 
taken by hand while wading in the shoal water below the dam. (See p. 59.) 



The mussels are 




Fig. j.^The mussels when taken ^rc put into a small flatboat and conveyed to the dam, where they are transferred to another 
boat above the dam. as illustrated. In the second boat tlie mussels are taken to camp for cooking out. This is the scene 
of one ol the most extensive mussel fisheries where shells are taken by hand. (See p. 59.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 59 

pipes, rising to the level of the gunwales of the boat, served as sockets or sleeves, through which a long 
iron rod could be shoved into the soft mud bottom of the river. By anchoring in this way tlie boat was 
kept abreast of tlie current, while the fisherman used the sides as a fulcrum for the handle of the fork. 
After gathering all the mussels possible within reach he would pull up the rods, let the boat drift down- 
stream a suitable distance, or beyond the portion of river just worked, and then anchor and resume 
operations as before. 

At Milltown, mussels were gathered by means of the basket-rake dragged by a power-boat. The rake 
was peculiar in being without teeth but having a square brail made of 0.25 by 1.5 inch flat iron, to 
which was fastened a wire basket of i-inch mesh. With each boat was a crew of four men, three to work 
with the rakes and one to operate the engine. One dragged the rake at the rear of the boat, while the 
other two worked at the sides. In this manner a strip of the river bottom 6 feet wide was thoroughly 
scraped. 

SUMMARY OF METHODS OF FISHERY. 

The principal forms of apparatus are the crowfoot bar, the dip net, the shoulder rake 
(or basket rake), the forks, and the dredge. A considerable quantity of shells, about 500 
tons each year, are taken by hand. (Cf. PI. XXXI.) The statistical reports previ- 
ously cited (p. 39 above) show in detail the quantities of mussels taken by theseveral forms 
of apparatus. From these reports the percentages of the total of 51,571 tons of shells 
taken in the territory covered, as credited to the several forms of apparatus, may be 
computed and stated as follows : 

Per cent. 

Crowfoot 70. o 

Forks 10. 5 

Tongs 7. 8 

Hand 5.3 

99-3 

SHORE EQUIPMENT AND PROCESSES. 

It is customary for the shellers to establish camps alongshore. Sometimes the 
camps are individual and occupied by one sheller with his family; in other cases a sort 
of village camp is found where a dozen or more families of shellers are grouped. The 
selection of a site is governed, first, by the proximity of a good shell bed; next by the 
convenience to wood and shade. Rude frame buildings may be constructed, or tents 
m.ay be used. A very common form of dwelling is the house-boat, or "shanty-boat," 
as it is generally termed (PI. XXXII, fig. 2). Thei-e are many different forms and 
sizes of shanty-boats, to suit the needs and ideas of the fishermen; popular sizes are 
about 10 by 35 feet and 12 by 40 feet. With such boats it is a simple matter for the 
sheller to move from place to place, according to the requirements of the fishery. One 
or two small flatboats and usually a larger boat with a small gasoline engine are almost 
always employed, whether or not the house-boat is used. 

After bringing the mussels ashore the soft parts must be removed. Where pearling 
is the exclusive object, each mussel may be opened with a knife inserted between the 
valves of the shell, so as to sever the adductor muscles; the meat is then cut out and 
examined for pearls. This may be done while wading in the river and the meat and 
shell thrown away at once. Such a process is entirely too slow and tedious for preparing 
shells for market; hence the cooking out process is exclusively employed in the shell 
110306°— 19 4 



Percent. 

Dip net 3. 3 

Dredge i. 2 

Rakes i. 2 



6o Bui^i^ETiN OP The bureau of fisheries. 

fishery. The man may fish during the forenoon and cook out in the afternoon; in 
some cases the wife or children of the sheller attend to the cooking out, while the sheller 
continues the fishing operations. 

The cooker consists of a vat about 5 feet long by 2 feet wide and from 12 to 18 
inches deep (PL XXVII, fig. 2 extreme left, and PL XXIX, fig. 4). The frame may 
be of wood and the bottom of sheet iron or stovepipe iron, brought up a few inches 
over the lower edges of the wood to protect it from the fire. The bottom of the cooker 
is usually made to slope upward at one end in order to facilitate the forking out of the 
shells. The vat is set over a trench or ditched-out furnace, the back part of which is 
fitted with a couple of joints of stovepipe or smokestack of some kind to furnish the 
necessary draft; driftwood may serve as fuel. 

When the cooker is filled with mussels, a small amount of water is added, and the 
whole is egvered with burlap or gunny sacks. The fire is started in the furnace and 
continued yntil steam is being given ofif in quantities sufficient to kill the mussels, so 
that they will open readily. The process may take about 20 minutes or longer. If the 
mussel camp is situated near a factory or some establishment from which steam can 
be obtained at a reasonable price, there is a great saving in time and trouble by making 
a direct steam-pipe connection between the boiler and the cooker. The shells are 
prepared in the same way, but instead of applying heat beneath the cooker the steam 
is admitted directly into the container. 

The shells are removed with a fork and thrown on the sorting table which is about 
3 feet high and of sufficient width and length to hold at least one-half of the contents 
of the cooker. The mussels must be handled separately, picking or shaking out the 
meats, which are put to one side for later examination for pearls and slugs, while the 
shells are thrown into heaos on the ground or into small bins (Pis. XXVII, fig. 2, 
and XXXII, fig. I). , ,; 

When all the shells have been cleaned, the water, or soup, in th'e' cot)ker is carefully 
strained through a small mesh screen of wire netting in order to recover any pearls or 
slugs which may have become disengaged from the meats during the cooking-out process. 
It is said that pearls which have lain on the hot metal bottom for any length of time 
are permanently injured. The size of the screen is usually about i foot square. Most 
of the pearls are found in the meats, which must be examined one by one. The pearls 
are not always visible, but are found by slipping the meats through the fingers. Small 
pearls are sometimes recovered by allowing the meats to rot in kegs or half-barrels. 
When reduced to a pulp, the mass is rubbed through a fine-mesh sieve, the pearls and 
slugs being retained on the sieve. 

Many mussels are cooked out merely with the hope of finding pearls. The non- 
commercial shells must be thrown aside, but there is no general practice of classification 
of the salable shells. Often this is done by throwing shells of a certain quality, such as 
niggerheads, pimple-backs, etc., into one pile and blue-points, washboards, and miscel- 
laneous shells into another. This is usually an advantage to the sheller, since he may 
obtain an advanced price on the best grade shells; yet the practice of buying the river 
run at one price is still very common. Most of the shellers do sort out the yellow sand- 
shells, since these command a price several times higher than the others ; but even this 
is not always done, and thus a good many yellow sand-shells are received at the factories 
along with other shells. These, of course, are sorted out at the factory, and resold to 



Bull. U. S. R. F,, 1917-1S. 



Plate XXXII. 




Fig. i.^Sortiiii: table and heap of shells on river bank, (tiee p. bo.) 




Fig. 2. — Barges loaded with shells and two shellers' house-boats, in Arkansas. (See p. 59.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 6l 

the export trade. It seems to be mere shortsightedness on the part of many shellers 
that prevents the effective classifying of materials before sale. 

The shells are sometimes sold to local buyers or local factories; more often they 
are bought by traveling buyers who may be agents of the larger factories or professional 
shell merchants who buy in large quantities and sell as they find the most favorable 
market. Some buyers maintain laige power boats and barges (PI. XXXIII), which 
may travel up and down the river, prepared to load the shells and convey them to a 
convenient manufacturing or shipping point. The greater part of the shells are shipped 
by rail in car shipments from the nearest freight station. At times and in some places 
it has been the practice for shellers to operate small cutting plants, but the scheme has 
not always worked well in practice. Each is a profession in itself, and the best cutting 
is done by those who are practiced in cutting and shop management and who can keep 
well advised as to the market demand for the various sizes and qualities of blanks. 

ELEMENTS OF WASTE. 

CULLS. 

The piles of culls are usually not large in proportion to the heaps of economic shells, 
but they include a good many kinds of shells, worthless because of excessive thinness, 
undesirable color, spotting, or other evident defect. Among such culls are the paper- 
shells, the pink heel-splitter, black sand-shells of pink nacre, purple warty-backs, and 
often the purple or salmon-colored elephant's ears and spikes. The last -mentioned can 
be used for making smoked-pearl buttons, although they are not usually in demand. 
It sometimes happens, therefore, that at the close of the season a buyer will take the 
usable colored shells at a reduced price. The tendency of shellers to throw in all off- 
colored shells has given unfortunate discouragement to this practice. 

MEATS. 

In connection with the shells collected each year, there are taken some 10,000 tons 
of wet meats for which there is no appropriate use. Small quantities are sold locally for 
use as fish bait with trot -lines, or hoop nets, or as food for poultry or pigs. The fresh 
meats, after being allowed to sour in the sun, are considered particularly good for these 
purposes; but generally only a small proportion of the meats has been so used. It is 
often a serious question in the mussel camp to make proper disposal of this material. 
The meats that can not be sold locally are often dumped into the river, buried in the 
ground, or put into a "rot box." The throwing of meats into the river in large quantities 
becomes objectionable when those that are not eaten by the fish and turtles rise to the 
surface in a state of decomposition and are washed ashore to cause an offensive stench in 
the neighborhood of the camps. 

The meats, when dried in the sun or by the use of artificial heat, can be ground to 
make a fine meal, in which condition they appear to keep indefinitely. For the purpose 
of sun-drying they are spread on frames made of coarse-mesh wire screen so arranged that 
the air can circulate freely between them. In dry, sunny weather the meats can be 
dried in from 30 to 72 hours to about five-eighths of their wet weight. When so dried, 
they can be ground in a coffee mill or similar machine; but the foot part becomes 
exceedingly hard and tough when partially dried and rapidly wears out the mill. Since 
the meats are usually too large to feed into the coffee mill whole, they should be reduced 



62 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

by pounding or, better, by chopping in a meat chopper before drying. Sand should be 
avoided in the whole process, as it will damage the grinder. If the foot is to be ground, 
the whole meats must be dried by artificial heat to about one-seventh of the wet weight. 
This entails some additional expense for fuel and ovens. The loss of nutritive substance 
in discarding the foot is not great ; but it is obvious that practical difficulties are encoun- 
tered in separating the tough from the soft parts before grinding. The whole trouble 
arising from the toughness of the foot is obviated by putting the wet meats through a 
sausage grinder before drying and then regrinding the dried masses of meat in any 
suitable mill; the product thus obtained is not a fine meal, but a coarsely granular 
material, practically dust free and very suitable in form for use as food for poultry or 
fish. At the Fairport station the ground meats have been found to be very acceptable 
to chickens when moistened to make a mash and mixed with grain. Experiments made 
by the Bureau of Animal Industry show that the dried mussel meats are a suitable food 
for chickens, having about the same value as fish meal. To obtain like results, a slightly 
larger quantity of these substances than of meals made from the red meats must be used. 
For some years fresh mussel meats have been used as a food for fish at the station, and 
it has been found best to allow them to sour a little before feeding them. The ground 
dry meats have also been used in feeding small fish in aquaria and in ponds, and they 
have proven a very satisfactory food material. The ground mussel meats have recently 
appeared upon the market in the form of feed for poultry and fish. 

The meats of the mussels could, perhaps, be used for human food if they were 
collected under sanitary conditions and properly prepared. This question should be 
subjected to experiment; but it would be obviously impossible to consider with reference 
to human food the use of meats saved as a by-product of the shell fishery under the 
conditions now prevailing. 

Analysis of the mussel meats made for this Bureau by the Bureau of Chemistry indi- 
cates a very desirable content of protein, glycogen, phosphoric acid, and lime, if the meats 
are considered with reference to their use as a food for poultry or fish. Approximately the 
percentages are: Protein, 44 percent; glycogen, 9 per cent; phosphoric acid, 9 per cent ; 
and lime, 8 per cent. An analysis in detail of meats of fresh-water mussels from the 
Mississippi River is stated in the following table : 

Analysis of Dry Mussel Meats." 

Per cent. 

Water, at 65° in vacuo 7-59 

Ether extract 2. 84 

Total Bitrogen 7- " 

Protein (N x 6.25) 44-44 

Glycogen 9-35 

Undetermined (nonnitrogenous organic material) 13- °2 

Ash "-76 

Ash content: 

Phosphoric acid, P2O5 39-31 

Lime, CaO 34-71 

Silica, SiOs 'S- ^6 

Qualitatively, there were present in the ash small amounts of sodium, potassium, iron, magnesium, 

and a considerable amount of manganese. No copper or zinc was detected. 

a The sample (or analysis was from a lot of more than loo pomids of ground, dry mussel meats, representing a collection 
ot all of the ordinary species taken in the Mississippi River near Fairport, Iowa, and Lake City. Minn. 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Platu XXXIII. 




FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 



63 



An article in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1910, volumes, page 237, by H. C. 
Bradley, on "Manganese in the Tissues of Lower Animals" gives analyses showing the 
proportion of manganese in the ash as taken from a group of nine samples of mussels 
from the Mississippi River. The high proportion of manganese, as compared with its 
occurrence in other animal tissues, is of unusual interest, but is without economic signifi- 
cance as now understood. 

Analysis op Mussels from the Mississippi River showing High Proportion of Manganese 

(After H. C. Bradley). 



Ash. 



Manganese 
in ash. 






Manganese 
in tissue. 



Total 
nitrogen. 



Maximum 
Minijnujn. 
Average. . . 



Per cent. 

33. S 

13. S 
J6.S 



Per cent. 
i-S 
3.7 
3-9 



Per cent. 
0.823 
.500 
•63 



Per cent. 
7-37 
7-37 
7-34 



UNDERSIZED SHELIvS. 

The most serious waste in connection with the mussel fishery consists in the taking 
and killing of undersized shells. It is argued by some fishermen that the young mussels 
should not be thrown back, since a considerable proportion of the mussels taken by the 
crowfoot die when returned to the water. Several experiments conducted at the Fair- 
port Biological Station indicate that from 35 to 40 per cent of the mussels taken with the 
crowfoot and returned to the water die in a short time. However, careful counts of 
weights of shells actually taken in the mussel fishery and under 2 inches in greatest 
dimension show that it requires from 33,000 to 174,000 to make a ton, with an average 
of about 90,000. Should these mussels be returned to the water and should only one-third 
live to attain a size of 2 inches in greatest dimension, the surviving mussels would weigh 
much more than a ton, and would thus be of greater value to the fisherman than the 
entire original quantity marketed as small shells. They would yield a far greater number 
of buttons per ton, and thus would be of more value to the industry. Furthermore, the 
larger mussels would have spawned and taken part in replenishing the beds, and thus 
would have been of inestimably greater benefit to the conservation of the mussel beds. 



Part 3. MANUFACTURE OF PEARL BUTTONS FROM FRESH-WATER 

MUSSEL SHELLS. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INDUSTRY. 

Neither the manufacture of buttons nor the abundance of fresh-water mussels in the 
United States are occurrences pecuhar to recent years. Nevertheless it is strictly a 
modem development for the fresh-water shells to be the material for button manufacture 
in any important way; for the making of fresh-water pearl buttons, now the principal 
branch of the industry, dates only from 1891. Buttons of brass and wood have been 
made in this country since about 1750, buttons of metal since 1800, buttons of horn 
since 1812, buttons of marine shell since 1855, and buttons of composition since 1862. 
Meantime, mussel shells eminently suitable for button manufacture, and readily. avail- 
able, have grown abundantly in the streams of the Mississippi Basin through all 
historical times. 

Long before an effective beginning was made, it seems to have occurred to various 
persons that the fresh-water mussel shells might be made useful for button manufacture. 
Indeed, there seems to have been an early industry on the Ohio River in the carving 
of cuff buttons from mussel shells more than 100 years ago." As early as 1872, it is 
said, a man in Peoria, 111., conceived the idea that the pearly shells of the Illinois River 
should have a value for manufacturing purposes, and he accordingly collected some of 
them and shipped them to Germany. It is very interesting to note that to this fugitive 
idea, resulting in a single small shipment, the actual establishment of the industry 
some 20 years later may perhaps be traced. However, it is evident that the matter 
was entirely abandoned for the time. According to local reports, a shipment of shells 
was sent from Beardstown, on the same river, to a factory in the East about 1876, but 
the material seems to have been considered impracticable of use. A more practical 
venture was made about 1883, when a commercial plant is reported to have been started 
at Knoxville, Tenn., where it was endeavored to make buttons and novelties from the 
shells of the Tennessee River. Unfortunately, the factory was discontinued after a 
short time, probably because of the lack of suitable machinery. It should be remarked 
that sometime in the late eighties pearl-button factories were in operation in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, and St. Paul, Minn., using as raw material the imported ocean-pearl shells. 
Although these plants were located on the very banks of good shell-bearing streams, 
there is no evidence that the river material was even experimented with. 

o Curiously enough, there is found in an early book of travels mention of a long-forROtten fresh-water button industry. 
The writer is indebted to Ernest Danglade for the reference. Dr. F. A. Michaux in 1S02, under the auspices of the minister of 
the interior of France, made an extended tour for exploration in the United States, especially through that part lying west of the 
AUeghanies, or in the Ohio Valley. His record of a button industry on the Ohio River is now of rare interest. He observes 
(translating from the French): "In the Ohio, as well as in the Alleghany, the Monongahela, and the other rivers of the West, 
there is found in abundance a species of mussel having a length from 2 to 5 inches. It is not eaten at all, but the nacre, which is 
thick, is used to make cull (or sleeve) buttons. I have seen some of them at Lexington, Ky, which were equal in beauty to those 
used in Europe. This new species, which I have brought back, has been designated, by citizen Bosc, under the name of Unto 
ohiotensis'* 

64 



Buhh. U. S. B. F., 1Q17-1S!. 



Platu XXXIV. 




Fig. I.— Receiving shells at boat landing. (See p. 61.) 




Fig. 2. — ^Small cutting plant and operatives ou ^lississippi River. l^t-L p — .; 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 65 

It must be said, in explanation of the seemingly half-hearted endeavors and re- 
peated failures, that the use of any form of pearl for button making was not widely 
practiced in the United States, and that, in the countries where the manufacture was 
principally pursued, fresh-water shells of suitable quality were quite unknown. Further- 
more, the river shell is quite distinct from ocean pearl in its qualities, so that the same 
machinery and methods, as experience has proven, can not well be applied to both kinds 
of shell. 

For the practical initiation of the fresh-water pearl-button industry credit must be 
given to the late J. F. Boepple, a man of singular tenacity of purpose, indefatigable and 
unyielding by nature. His characteristics did not adapt him for commercial success, 
but they did enable him to battle against the varied obstacles that would have over- 
whelmed a weaker or less persistent character. By its conception and practical initia- 
tion, the fresh-water pearl-button industry is Boepple's; by its development and eleva- 
tion to the plane of an important national industry it is the product of other resolute 
persons, who persisted through the period of threatened failures to compel the adapta- 
tion of the industry to the requirements of business efficiency. 

Mr. Boepple was a turner and button worker in Ottensen, Germany, near Hamburg, 
when a friend and fellow worker brought to the shop a box of shells of a kind entirely 
unfamiliar to them." He said that they had been shipped to his father from America a 
good many years before, but did not know from what place they came, except that they 
were taken from a river "somewhere about 200 miles southwest of Chicago." After 
some experimentation at odd times it was concluded that these mussel shells would be 
good for making buttons. In the following year Mr. Boepple sold his business and, 
taking with him a turning-lathe equipment and some other trade tools, embarked for 
America, where he landed in March, 1887. He first engaged in farm work near Gib- 
son City, III., and a little later, July, 1887, stopped at Petersburg, 111., on the Sanga- 
mon River. He says, "While in bathing one day my foot was cut, and upon examina- 
tion of the cause I found the bottom of the river covered with mussel shells." The 
vivid picture of the situation which confronted the young immigrant is given by his 
own words: "At last I found what I had been looking for; yet there still was a problem 
before me. I was without capital in a strange land among strange people and unfamiliar 
with the language. " 

The next few years he spent in farm work and railroad-construction labor ; but during 
this time he located other shell beds, in the Rock River near Rock Island, 111., in the Mis- 
sissippi near Muscatine, Iowa, and in the Iowa River near Columbus Junction. At the 
last-mentioned place, having formed a shop, partly with equipment he had brought 
from Germany, he engaged after work hours and during the winter in making shell 
novelties, such as pins, bridle buttons and cuff buttons, for which he found a sale. 
(See Plate XXXVI, fig. i.) 

Learning later that the price of buttons was becoming higher, he went to Muscatine, 
where he enlisted the financial and mechanical assistance of William Molis and R. Kerr, 
and there the first button factory was launched in the early part of 1891. 

o The following account of the begi naing of the industry is based on a statement written by Mr. Boepple at the request of the 
director of the Fairport station. It was the recollection of Mr. Boepple that the shells experimented with at Ottensen were 
mudcets and three-ridges, and it is presumed that these are the shells shipped by Wm. Salter from Peoria, 111., in 1373. 



66 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

This factory and a following one did not succeed against the inevitable difficulties 
confronting a new venture. Better success was had in the ensuing year, when a market 
for the product began to be found, but it was hardly before 1895, after several factories 
in the hands of various parties were in operation, that the industry could be said to be 
fairly established." 

The greatest expansion occurred in 1897 and 1898, when a condition of more than 
local excitement prevailed. Thus, in 1897 there were 13 button or blank establishments 
in 4 cities on the Mississippi River, while in 1 898 there were 49 plants in 1 3 towns on the 
same river, besides at least 12 factories in as many different cities more or less remote 
from the Mississippi River. The territory of the new industry now extended from 
Omaha, Nebr., to Janesville, Wis., and Cincinnati, Ohio, with the center still at Musca- 
tine, Iowa, where there were 28 blank -cutting plants, or "saw works," as they were 
then called, and 5 complete factories. 

The next great advance came in 1901 with the invention of automatic facing and 
drilling machines; by subsequent invention (1903) these machines were combined into 
one, the automatic facing and drilling machine. Both the single and the double machines 
are still in use, although improved by many minor changes and additions. These 
machines are very ingenious in design, and not only enable an operator to turn out four 
or five times as great a number of buttons per day, as compared with the product of 
the foot-power lathes formerly in use, but also insure a greater uniformity of finish. 

SOME ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE INDUSTRY. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY. 

Recent as the establishment of the industry is, the effects have already been note- 
worthy. The United States Census reports show that in 1849, before pearl material 
was in use, the value of American button products was $964,000, and in 1859 $949,000. 
The manufacture of ocean-pearl buttons and of composition buttons began about this 
time, or in 1855 and 1862, respectively, and perhaps it is due to this that in 1869 we 
find the value of all button products amounting to $1,779,000 and in 1879 to $4,450,000. 
No increase is shown in the next decade, for in 1889 the value was but $4,127,000. It 
was during the two following decades that the fresh-water button industry developed 
with such rapidity. The value of the button product of the country in 1899 was 
$7,696,000, in 1904 $11,134,000, and in 1909 $22,708,000.* 

It is unfortunate that the figures for pearl-button manufacture alone are not avail- 
able for other years (prior to 1914) than 1900 and 1905, but from the reports of these 
years we find that the fresh-water pearl-button product was valued in 1899 at $2,766,053 
and in 1904 at $4,370,241. Between these two dates the first automatic machinery was 
put into use. During the same period the output of ocean-pearl buttons fell from nearly 
$2,000,000 to about $1,500,000 in value. It will not appear, however, from facts given 
below that the great development of the fresh-water pearl manufacture has caused any 
general decline in the other branches of the industry. The census taken for 1909 gives 

olt should be recorded that Mr. Boepple, who subsequenUy removed to Davenport, Iowa, and later to Cannelton, Ind., 
continued to engage actively in the button industry until February, 1910. At that time he became shell expert of the Fisheries 
Biological Station at Fairport, Iowa, where he rendered invaluable service tmtil his death in January', 1912. 

b Exclusive of buttons manufactured as by-products of other establishments not engaged primarily in button manufacture. 
All the figures above are reduced to even thousands for convenience of examination. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL, INDUSTRIES. 



67 



no classification from which data can be obtained regarding pearl materials; but from 
a statistical survey which the Bureau of Fisheries conducted for the year 1912 " it is 
ascertained that the value of the button product from fresh-water shells alone amounted 
to $6,173,486, with blanks for sale amounting to $2,511,217, and by-products with a 
value of $187,607. As reported by the Census Bureau's summary concerning the 
button industry for 1914, fresh-water pearl buttons, exclusive of blanks and by-products, 
were valued at $4,879,844. 

DEVELOPMENT RELATIVE To OTHER BRANCHES OF THE BUTTON INDUSTRY. 

Fresh-water pearl has gradually come to assume first place among materials for 
button manufacture, as shown by a table herewith. The principal materials are fresh- 
water pearl, ocean pearl, metal, vegetable ivory, celluloid, cloth, bone, and miscellaneous 
materials elsewhere listed. 

Relative Rank of Fresh-w.^ter Peari. among the Different Materials Employed for Button 

Manufacture at Variois Dates. 



Buttons, total 

Fresh-water pearl 

Ocean pearl 

Metal 

Vegetable ivory 

Cloth 

Bone 

All others « 

Button blanks made for sale. . 

All other products 

Aggregate 



1889 



W 



$4,2l6, 795 



1899 



t6, 467, 373 

1. 176, 28s 

1,951-558 

887.511 

1,144.677 

468.121 

137.401 

701,810 

656,036 



7,695,910 



3 



/ 

> I. 



b$22,7oS,o65 



$6,173,486 



,511,217 
I ",7, 607 



$16, 233, 198 

4,879,844 

2,489,364 

763, 287 

2.885,503 



329,934 
4.885,266 



A 20, 791,985 



o Fresh water only. 

t* Exclusive of buttons to the value of more than $1,000,000. made in each year 1904 and 1909 by establishments engaged pri- 
znorily in the manufacture of other products. 

c Not classified. 

d The product of Iowa and Illinois in 1897 was $243,655 and in 1898 $252,570 (Smith). 

' Some of the materials from which buttons are made, in addition to those indicated in the table, are brass, composition 
(clay, etc), wood, glass, gold, hoof, iron, ivory, leather, paperboard, porcelain, silver, steel, and also, in some cases, skim 
milk (casein), animal blood, and probably bakehte. 

/ Probably fresh-water pearl chiefly. 

Partly fresh-water pearl products. 

A Includes blanks, or molds, snap fasteners, and all other products in amount, $4,558,787. 

The census report of 1900 states: " In 1890 there was not a single fresh-water pearl 
button made in the United States. In 1900 the making of these buttons constituted 
the second most important branch of the button industry." Yet, at the next census, 
only five years later, the fresh-water pearl buttons are found not only in the first rank, 
but actually exceeding in value the combined product of the two next highest — ocean 
pearl and vegetable ivory.'' 

It would be of value to compare the production in gross of buttons and the price 
per gross during the years from 1899 to 1909. Unfortunately, the census report gives 
no classification except for the years 1899, 1904, and 1914; but the table following sup- 
plies the blanks by computation, the basis for each computation being explained in 
footnotes . 



o It is well known that for several reasons there was a temporary decline of button manufacture between 1909 and 1912. 

6 The figures for i9i4are not quite representative for the fresh-water industry, since the blanks and by-products aggregated 
at the bottom of the table are probably principally fresh-water products, as may be inferred 'from the total for that industry given 
by the census report in another place as $4,370,000. 



68 



BUI^LETIN OP THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



1889. . 
1899.. 
1904. . 
1909., 
1912.. 
1914- • 



Estimate 

Census 

do 

Estimate 

Bureau of Fisheries. 
Census 



AU kinds. 


Fresh-water pearl. 


Ocean pearl. 


Million 
gross. 


Price per 

gross. 


Million 
gross. 


Price per 
gross. 


Million 
gross. 


Price per 
gross. 


«I4. 
21.3 
29.9 




4-3 

II. 4 
<30. 
/26. 

21.7 




(0 
4.0 

1-7 




$0.30 
.30 


$0.27 
.30 
'. 235 
/. 236 

.225 


$0.48 
.87 










60.6 




4-5 


•SSI 



o obtained by dividing census value of $4,217,000 by assumed average price of 30 cents per gross. 
^ None, 
c Unknown. 

d Obtained by dividing census value of $22,708,000 (aggregate), reduced to $20,000,000 to allow for value of waste products, by 
assujned average price per gross of 30 cents. This average price talc e n from censuses of 1900 and 1905. 
« Unofficial estimate. 
/ From statistical survey of the fresh-water mussel industry conducted in 1913 by the Bureau of Fisheries. 

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF BUTTONS. 

The history of imports of buttons of all kinds since 1891 has an interest in connec- 
tion with the domestic industries and is shown in an accompanying table. The exports 
of domestic buttons are also shown for the few years for which they have been sepa- 
rately shown in the schedule. (See table below.) We find, first, a substantial decline in 
imports approximately coincident with the inauguration of the fresh-water pearl industry, 
but evidently not related thereto, this decline being attributable to the financial strin- 
gency of 1 892-1 894; second, a substantial recovery of import trade in 1895 and 1896; 
third, a marked decline in imports coincident with the rapid expansion of the fresh- 
water pearl-button industry in 1897 and the following years; fourth, a general slow rise 
in the amount of importations, beginning about 1900, although never, until 191 3, rising 
to more than about one-half of the importations of 1 891 . Nevertheless, the difference in 
value between the imports of 1891 and 1910 is not at all commensurate with the output 
of the fresh-water pearl industry. In the later years there is not a wide difference 
between the value of imports and exports. Imports of pearl buttons have never been 
of considerable value, except about 1896, 1903, and 191 7. 

Imports and Exports of Buttons." 



Year ending 
June 30 — 


Imports, all 
kinds 

(dutiable)." 


Exports, all 
kinds. 


Imports (for 
consiunption) 

of pearl and 
shell buttons, 

including 
imports from 

Philippines. 


Year ending 
June 30— 


Imports, all 
kinds 

(dutiable)." 


Exports, all 
kinds. 


Imports (for 

consumption) 
of pearl and 

shell buttons, 
including 

imports from 
Philippines. 




$3,096,000 

1.317.000 

1,410.000 

465,000 

1,071,000 

1,424.000 

950,000 

436,000 

45 I. 000 

593.000 

551,000 

954, 000 

1,190,000 

893,000 




Sioo,cxx> 

292,000 

275,000 

38,000 

376, 000 

332.000 

359' 000 

37.000 

24.000 

36,000 

76,000 

424rOOO 

469,000 

157.000 




$866,000 

873.000 

936,000 

653.000 

767,000 

1,056,000 

762.000 

1,130,000 

1,856.000 

1,082,000 

1,005,000 

789, 000 

I, 207.000 

1,376,000 




$172,000 










134,000 










164,000 






igo8 




93.000 










87.000 


1896 




1910 


$474' 000 

557. 000 

■724,000 

849.000 

654,000 

I, 171,000 

1.903,000 

1,982,000 

c 3,105,000 


107, 000 








100, 000 


1898 




1912 


71,000 








137,000 








253.000 


TOOl' 






380, 000 


' 






546,000 


_ 




1917 


1,058,000 








914,000 











" Prom Government reports and information furnished by the U. S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, but in 
each case reduced to the nearest even thousand. 

' Imported buttons of high price are principally glass, pearl, and metal; of medium price, Philippine pearl (small quality) ; 
of low price, agate, bone, and nidcel bar and recently Japanese pearl. 

c Including pearl buttons to the value of $600,666. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 69 

When the imports are added to the domestic production we observe the enormous 
increase (in consumption) from about $9,000,000 to about $23,000,000, during the 
course of 20 years, an increase entirel)' disproportionate to the growth in population 
during the same period. The per capita consumption of buttons grew from about 37 
in 1891 to about 106 in 1910." 

This magniiied consumption can not be attributed simply to increased prosperity 
or to growing extravagance. It is a matter of common experience that where relatively 
expensive buttons were formerly hoarded and used again and again, the modern cheap- 
ness of good material has lead to the general abandonment of this laborious practice. 
The real significance of the fresh-water pearl industry is that it has, by its direct and 
indirect effects, made good buttons low in price and more generally used; as, indeed, 
would be the result in any industry that found a new and abundant resource to yield a 
quality of product formerly obtainable only from less available and more expensive 
materials. 

During the last few years there has been increasing activity in various branches 
of the button industry, notably in vegetable ivory and celluloid, but fresh-water pearl 
still ranks as the paramount material used by button manufacturers. 

SUMMARY OF ECONOMIC EFFECTS. 

We may thus summarize the broader effects attributable in large part, though we 
would not say exclusively, to the development of the fresh-water mussel industry. 
Although affording employment to many wage earners and giving occasion for an im- 
portant fishery, it has not caused a material diminution, if any, in the output of any other 
branch of the button industry. The fresh-water pearl product alone is now greater 
than the entire output of the button industry in 1890; but at the same time the product 
of other branches of the industry is greater than in 1 890. The fresh-water product is 
simply an addition by so much to the available wealth of the country. It has made a 
good button almost universally available, so that the total consumption has been greatly 
augmented. The economic rating of this industry will always depend in considerable 
measure upon its supplying a good product at a relatively low price ; and this con- 
dition will be maintained only by preventing the depletion of the native resources and 
by promoting economy in manufacture. 

DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN METHODS. 

In the early stages of the industry the making of buttons was accomplished largely 
by hand machinery, so-called. The shells were held against the revolving saws by 
hand while the blanks were being cut out. Each blank was held with the finger against 
a revolving emery wheel, first to be backed, or ground to a smooth surface, and next 
to be turned or faced to a proper form with the central depression worked out. Then 
the blanks individually were placed in chucks for the drilling of two or four holes. Only 
the final polish was administered to the buttons in bulk. Sorting and carding was, of 
course, done by hand. 

« These figures are based on the computation that the $4,2x6,000 worth of buttons of 1890 represented, at 30 cents per gross, 
14.000.000 gross, or 3,000.000.000 buttons, while the output in :gio is computed in the same way as 9,500,000,000. Importations 
are added and exportations deducted. 



70 BUIvLETIN OF The bureau OF FISHERIES. 

Most of these processes have become obsolete in the United States with the devel- 
opment of modern machinery. It is, indeed, to the automatic machinery that the 
industry owes its present relative importance. The old process of sawing remains prac- 
tically unchanged, but the grinding, facing, and drilling, the principal features of button 
making, are accomplished by Automatic machinery. For the three processes either 
two or three machines are used; in some cases a grinder attachment to the double auto- 
matic makes it possible to combine the entire process in one machine. 

The sorting, or grading, of the buttons requires nice judgment and must still re- 
main a hand process; but recently a machine has been introduced for the attachment 
of buttons to the cards. 

Not only the departures in the mechanical equipment but the improved efficiency 
of labor and better shop management are combining to increase the output and to 
promote economy of production with better quality and uniformity of product. These, 
and such other present-day features as the utilization of waste materials and the intro- 
duction of sanitary devices, will undoubtedly be more generally and effectively applied 
in the future. 

PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURE. 

The description of the general process of button making as given below is essen- 
tially that of the average modern plant, although in each factory characteristic modifi- 
cations of method are encountered. 

PRE'PARATION OF SHELLS. 

Storage. — ^When the mussel shells are received by barge or freight car, they are 
hauled to large covered or exposed storage bins at the factories, to be kept until ready 
for use. A rough sorting is often done at this stage, so that each bin will contain shells 
of a relatively uniform size and quality. There is no apparent deterioration of the 
quality of shells if protected from the weather. If not so protected, they are liable in 
time to lose the luster and become lifeless or chalky. The exterior of the shell is most 
readily affected once the horny covering is worn or scaled off. For this reason shells 
which have been long exposed on the banks or "dead" shells from the rivers are consid- 
ered undesirable. 

Classifying — ^When the shells are taken from the bins for use, they are first 
sorted by hand according to species or quality of material, if this has not previously 
been done, and are then classified as to size. The latter process is accomplished by 
a machine called a classifier, which, though larger, is similar in principle to the classi- 
fier used for blanks (PI. XXXVIII, fig. i). The shells are put into a large hopper, from 
which automatically they are fed slowly onto an endless belt leading to the classifier, which 
consists, primarily, of two hollow metal rollers about 6 inches in diameter and 8 feet 
in length. By falling between the two rollers the shells are to be separated, roughly, 
into four or five grades, according to size and thickness. To this end the rollers are 
set with an incline and are not quite parallel with each other, being more widely sepa- 
rated at the lower ends. As they revolve outwardly the shells slip, or roll down the 
incline to a point where the opening between the rolleis permits them to fall into one 
of a series of buckets placed below. The smaller and thinner shells are found in the 
buckets nearest the head. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 7 1 

The classification of shells by size and character has obvious advantages for adap- 
tation of material to particular grades of buttons and to uniform speeds of machinery. 

Soaking. — After classifying, the shells are placed into large metal tanks or vats, 
each holding about a ton, or sometimes into barrels. The containers are then filled 
with water, in which the shells are allowed to soak for a week or more. The process 
is intended to soften the material, which would otherwise be too hard on the saws, as 
well as so brittle as to chip and yield blanks with rough edges. The smaller sizes of 
shell may simply be put into damp cellars, sprinkled, and covered with wet cloths. 

Curiously enough, there is a difference of opinion among manufacturers as to the 
merits of this treatment, the contrary view being held by some that the material works 
better if not soaked, but simply sprinkled, before cutting. The custom of soaking is one 
that is generally desired by the cutters, however, since it is held to lessen the labor of 
resharpening the saws. 

An obvious but probably urmecessary disadvantage of the soaking process consists 
in the fact that the shells as marketed have small bits of meat attached, so that after 
soaking the water may become more or less foul. In handling the shells scooped from 
the vats there is the possibility of contamination in the event of abrasions upon the 
hand. This is undoubtedly the cause of an infection to which cutters are more or less 
liable. The addition of an antiseptic compound to the water of the vats should be a 
universal feature of this process. 

SAWING OR BLANK CUTTING. 

The Machine. — The cutting machine is essentially a lathe fitted, on the one hand, 
with a tubular saw of the necessary diameter to obtain the required size of button, and, 
on the other hand, with a wooden plug and a ratchet handle or lever for gradually forcing 
the rough shell against the rapidly rotating saw (PI. XXXV, fig. 3). The shell is held 
in position either by tongs or by the hand protected with a mitten. During the cutting 
process small jets of water are directed against the shell to keep it, as well as the saw, cool 
and also to prevent the production of troublesome and injurious dust (PI. XXXVIII, 
fig. 2). Successive blanks as they are cut are crowded through the tubular saw to fall 
into a receptacle below. When the desired blanks are removed, the shell is thrown 
into a bucket or box to be subsequently dumped upon the shell heap, unless the shell 
is to be passed to another machine for a second cutting of smaller and thinner blanks. 
The cutting machine, including the saw, is about the only one of the many used in 
button factories on which no radical improvements have been made since it was first 
introduced and adapted to the fresh-water shells. The original invention may or may 
not be the best solution of the problem, but as yet none of the machines put forth 
as improvements has earned an established place in manufacture. 

The saws must be made of specially hardened steel, and are obtainable from only 
a few shops. When received from the factory, each saw is simply a rolled cylinder 
tapering at one end, being without teeth at this stage (PI. XXXVII, fig. i). They are 
made of different tempers as extra-hard, hard, regular, soft, and very soft, for adapta- 
tion to the varied texture of the material to be cut. 

The sizes of the buttons are determined by the inner diameter of the cutting end 
of the saw, and the unit of button measure is one-fortieth of an inch, called a line. But- 
tons from fresh -water shells vary in size from 14 to 40 lines (from about one- third of an 



72 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP PISHERIES. 

inch to I inch). Buttons of ocean pearl are sometimes made as small as one-fourth of 
an inch, and the same size of fresh-water buttons is made in novelty works as well as 
the larger sizes up to 60 lines (1.5 inches) or larger. 

The button-cutting machine is equipped with a three-step cone pulley so that the 
speed may be adapted to the shell and line to be cut. For blanks of 14 to 20 lines a 
speed of over 400 revolutions per minute may be used, while about 275 revolutions would 
be used for 22 to 36 lines. The largest sizes, 36 to 60 lines, would be cut with a speed 
of only about 180 revolutions per minute. The speed will, of course, be adapted some- 
what to the shell and to the whim of the individual operator. 

The cost of a cutting machine installed was estimated four years ago at about 
$24. (See page 44.) The number of machines operated in one plant varies from three 
or four in small blank-cutting shops to one hundred or more in larger factories. 

Detached Cutting Plants. — While button factories commonly include cutting 
rooms (PI. XXXVIII, fig. 2), where the blanks, or buttons in the rough, are cut from 
the shells, there are yet a good many establishments devoted exclusively to the finishing 
arid grading. In such cases the cutting is done in detached cutting plants (PI. XXXIV, 
fig. 2), which may be located at convenient points in different States and from which 
the blanks may be shipped to the factory. There are also numbers of independent 
cutting plants, or button shops, which may be more or less portable. The owners of 
such plants take the shells from the river or buy them and cut out the blanks, which 
are then sold to the manufacturers of buttons. It has frequently occurred that when a 
new region of abundance of commercial shells has been discovered numerous small 
cutting plants have sprung up along the banks or on house-boats. A single fisher- 
man may purchase and install a single machine and small gasoline engine to cut the 
shells that he and his family take, or a number of machines may be installed, labor 
employed, and the product of other fishermen purchased. In a few cases the cutting 
plants are cooperative, a number of shellers operating each a particular machine and 
cutting and marketing his own blanks. The blanks may be sold to the owner of the 
machines or in the open market. 

Most manufacturers purchase blanks when it is more profitable to do so than to 
produce them in the factory ; but generally a manufacturer prefers to produce his own 
blanks, since greater care can be exercised in proper cutting. There are cases where 
the independent cutting plants are particularly to be recommended, as where the shells 
are too scattering for convenient shipment in carload lots, or, in remote localities, whence 
the freight charges on the bulky shells are practically prohibitive. In some streams it 
appears that the best solution of the marketing problem would be had by the operation 
of small cutting plants on house-boats, which can be floated down the river, cutting the 
shells as they are found and throwing the waste shell back into the river. The blanks 
can be shipped from time to time from convenient points. This plan has also its 
advantages where the shells are abundant but so spotted or stained that the proportion 
of good shell to waste is relatively low. It is of interest to note that the freight charges 
paid for transportation of shells and blanks in 1912 were reported at $131,000. 

Work and Wage of Cutter. — ^The cutters are men. Each cutter is ordinarily 
expected to provide himself with a few tools, such as three to five saw spuns, a button- 
cutter's hammer, shell tongs, saw, files, and hose and bibb. This equipment may be 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 73 

purchased either from the factory or elsewhere ; its cost in prewar times was about $2 
and approximately $4 in 19 19. 

The button cutter, having had his shells weighed out to him and having received 
his saw, proceeds to fit the saw into the spun, or saw holder, and then sets the spun 
in the chuck fixed in the machine, which is thrown into operation to test if the saw is 
set perfectly true. If not found to be running true, adjustment is effected by tapping, 
or by refitting. It may require several minutes, at least, to obtain a correct adjustment. 
With a slender three-cornered file the teeth (i i to 20 or more in number, according to the 
size of blank to be cut) are then cut into the saw, after which the teeth are set, and the 
machine is ready for practical work. (See PI. XXXVII, fig. i.) In quantity of pro- 
duction, quality, and economy, as will be more fully shown later, much depends upon 
the skill and interest of the cutter, as well as upon the good judgment of the manu- 
facturer in the purchase and assignment of material. 

Roughly speaking, a cutter may use about 100 pounds of shell per day, cutting 25 
gross or more of blanks. The number of pounds of shell required to produce a gross of 
buttons varies with the line, the character of the shell, the skill and interest of the cutter, 
and with the care of the management. 

Once a week the cutters take their blanks to the foreman and are paid at a given 
price per gross. There is usually some system by which the cutter is held responsible 
for excessive waste of shell. The wages of cutters vary widely, according to the skill 
and regularity of the individual. 

Since the number of gross is computed from the weight of the blanks in bulk, it is 
customary to give the blanks a preliminary shaking over sieves adapted to the size to 
be used. The openings in the sieve are just a little smaller than the blanks, so that, not 
only the chips and dust are removed, but also such imperfect blanks as have one diameter 
less than that of the opening. 

Representative prices in 1914 and in 1919 (figures in parentheses) were as follows: 

6 ( 7K) cents per gross of 14 lines. 10 (iiK) cents per gross of 24 lines. 
6(8 ) cents per gross of 16 lines. 13 (15 ) cents per gross of 30 lines. 

7 ( 8^2) cents per gross of 18 lines. 17 (18 ) cents per gross of 36 lines. 

8 ( 9K) cents per gross of 20 lines. 21 (26 ) cents per gross of 40 lines. 
g (10^) cents per gross of 22 lines. 

At these prices a cutter could earn from $10 to $20 per week in 1914, or from $12 
to $35 in 1919. A small bonus may be paid for full-time work. 

Production of Blanks. — With good cutting of niggerhead shells 100 pounds of 
shell will yield 12 to 14 pounds of blanks, but the production is usually much lower, 
often only about 9 pounds. A fine grade of muckets from Lake Pepin, being light and of 
comparatively uniform thickness, will yield 20 pounds of blanks per 100 pounds of shell. 

The table following prepared by the shell expert of the Fairport station is of interest 
as illustrating how the different species and sizes of shells may be adapted for different 
lines of buttons. The cutting practice in any plant will, however, be adapted to varying 
market demands, rather than to any theoretically ideal scheme for the most effective use 
of the shell. 



74 BUI^LETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

Species and Sizes op Shell That May be Adapted for Different Lines op Buttons. 



CoHUUon name. 



Spedes. 



Lines of buttons. 


Small 


Medium 


Large 


shells. 


shells. 


shells. 


Lines. 


Lines. 


Lines, 


14-18 


14-22 


14-30 


14-16 


14-20 


14-24 


14-20 


14-20 


14-20 


14-20 


14-20 


14-20 


14-20 


14-24 


14-40 


14-20 


J4-24 


14-30 


14-16 


14—20 


14-24 


14-16 


14-20 


14-24 


14-16 


14-20 


14-20 



Remarks. 



Mucket 

Yellow sand-shell 

Slough sand-shell 

Fat jnucket 

Washboard 

Three-ridge 

Niggerhead 

Maple-leaf 

Pimple- back 



Lampsihs ligamentina. . 
Lami>sihs anodontoides 

Lampsilis fallaciosa .... 
I^ampsilis luteola 

Quadnila heros 

Quadrula undulata .... 

Quadrula ebenus 

Quadrula lachrymosa . . 
Quadrula pustulosa .... 



This species usually ex- 
ported lor novelty 
work. 

Good shell only in cer- 
tain regions. 

Often much waste on 
account of spotting. 

1 These species yield a 
proportion of irides- 
cents. 



Tips are cut from all of the above-named shells. Take, for example, large washboard 
shells yielding 14-40 line blanks. The shells are first taken to the 40-line cutte r, who cuts 
out all the 4o-l:ne blanks that are of the proper thickness with a true face (PI. XLIV). 
They are then taken to another cutter, who cuts out all the 24-line blanks that are avail- 
able. Finally, they are passed to the tipper, who cuts the remainder of the available 
material into 14 and 16 line tips. These tip blanks when run through the blank classifier 
may turn out a good per cent of blanks that are classed as butts, meaning by this that 
they are thick enough to make into any style of button; the tips are usually so thin that 
they must be finished with a machined face that requires the least material to be taken 
from it. 

At first glance the process of cutting might appear a very simple one, yet it is properly 
an operation requiring much skill on the part of the laborer and the wisest type of 
management. A fuller discussion of the significance of the cutting room in the proper 
utilization of shells is given on pages 82-87. 

FINISHING PROCESSES. 

Preparing the BIvANKS. — Before going to the finishing machines the blanks are 
usually passed through four intermediate processes. 

The blank classifier is essentially similar to the shell classifier on a smaller scale 
and need not be described in detail (PI. XXXVIII, fig. i) ; by falling between rollers the 
blanks are separated into different lots according to thicknesses (PI. XXXVII, fig. 2). 

They are then placed in tumblers, consisting of heavy and slowly revolving barrels 
of iron or wood (PI. XXXV, fig. 2). In these the blanks are churned with water and 
pumice stone to clean them and remove the rough edges, making them easier to handle 
and more workable. Lye is sometimes used in connection with the pumice stone. As a 
cheaper abrasive of more rapid action, fine sand may be used with the pumice stone. 

The blanks are now ready for the grinder, a machine fitted with an emery wheel 
which grinds away the homy backs and reduces the blanks to a uniform thickness (PI. 
XXXV, fig. 5). These machines are operated by girls, who place the blanks face down 
upon moving belts 3 or 4 inches wide, while the belts convey the blanks underneath 
the emery wheels. These machines, as well as all others that require it, are generally 
connected by suction tubes with blowers for removing the dust that would otherwise 



BuLU U. S. li. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XXXV. 




Fig. I. — The chum used in polishing buttons. 
(Seep. 77) 



Fig. 2. — The tumbler employed for bufiing blanks or buttons. (See 
P- 74.) 




Fig. 3. — A cutting machine of simple type. (See 
p. 71.) 



Fig. 4. — The shaker in which the buttons receive the final 
polish. (See p. 77.) 





r 


j^ll^l jWB^S| ^^^^_m ^V^L'^^ 

4 


• 
< 



I'lo- 5-— The belt crinder employed to remove the backs from blanks and bring them to desired thickness. (See p. 74.) 



Bull. U. S, B. F., 1917-if 



Plate XXXVI. 




Fig. I.— The orit;inal foot-power Uthe employed bv Mr. Boepple in the inau^ruration of the fresh-water 
pearl-button industry. (See p. 65.) 




Fig. 2.— a modem automatic machine for shaping and drilling buttons. (See p. 75.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XXX\'II. 




Fig. I.— Tubular saws of different sizes, saw and spun fitted into the chuck, and shell from which 
blanks have been cut. (See p. 71.) 




Fig. r.— Blanks of various sizes and thicknesses as cut from the shell and before submission to the 
"backing" process. (See p. 74 ) 



^^M V 1 











• ooo 





• 











e 


e 






I'lG. J.— Finished buttons of several sizes and patterns. (See p. 76.) 



Bi'i.i,. U. vS. R. F., Tt)i7-i5 



Plate XXXVIII. 




Fig. I.— Dljuk classilicrs for separation ot lilaiiks accordini; to thickness. cScc p. 74. J 




Fig. 2.— The cutting ruom, where blanks are cut irum Uic raw shells. (See p. 72.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-ii 



PLAxe XXXIX. 




Fig. I.— The belt grinders, where hl.inks arc broui;ht to unilonu thickness. (See p. 75.) 




Fig. 2. — The "Ikiishing" room, where the blanks are converted into buttons by automatic faciny and drilling: machines. 

(.See p. 75.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 75 

be obnoxious and injurious to employees (PI. XXXIX, fig. i). Grinders are paid from 
15 to 25 cents per 100 gross, according to size and thickness of blanks, earning from $9 
to $15 per week. 

Finally the blanks are again soaked in water to be softened for the finishing machine. 
In some cases, if too much mixed in quality or size, the blanks may be sorted by hand. 

Making thb Buttons. — Having been classified, tumbled, backed, and soaked, 
the blanks are now ready for the essential processes of button making, which are accom- 
plished by an automatic machine of comparatively recent invention and of very ingenious 
design. The illustration (PI. XXXVI, fig. 2) will aid in an understanding of the brief 
description of the working of the machine which can be here given. (See also PI. XXXIX, 
fig. 2.) The blanks are fed by hand into depressions in the tops of vertical chucks, which 
are arranged in series constituting an endless chain. As the chucks in endless chain pass 
around the circumference of the machine each blank is automatically operated upon by 
various tools, and each tool is automatically sharpened and prepared for the succeeding 
blank. The processes accomplished in the machine consist in rounding the edges and 
carving out the center in the desired pattern to make the face of the button and in drilling 
two or four holes according to pattern. After the first hole the drill rises, the button makes 
a turn through a fourth or a half of one revolution (according to whether it is to be a 
four-hole or two-hole button) , when the drill again descends to make a new hole. After 
the last hole is drilled the chuck opens automatically to release the button, which is 
sucked into a tube connected with the blower system to be dropped into a bucket 
through a counting tube. 

Some twenty-odd distinct operations are combined in the double automatic machine, 
and it is interesting to record them. Let it be noted that the button travels in an oblong 
orbit, while the carving tools and the drills, respectively, travel in smaller circular orbits 
at opposite ends of the button orbit. 

1. The traveling chuck, which is open after releasing a finished button, closes on the 
new blank placed in the top depression. 

2. The chuck with the blank begins to revolve rapidly on its axis while continuing 
to travel to the right. 

3. The face of the revolving and traveling button is applied to a carving tool of 
proper form to make the desired face. The tool itself is stationary on its axis, but travels 
in orbit with the buttons. 

4. The facing completed, the tool rises. 

5. The rotation of the blank is stopped. 

6. The tool, continuing on its orbit, is sharpened on an emery wheel. 

7. Before meeting another blank the tool is lowered by a small fraction of an inch 
to compensate for the shortening due to the grinding on the emery wheel. 

8. The chuck, with its blank, leaves the orbit of the carving tool at a tangent to 
pass over to the orbit of the driUing tools. 

9. When the blank is in just the right position, one of the drills descends to make 
the first hole in the blank. In this operation the drill revolves, while the blank is station- 
ary on its axis, but both travel together. 

10. The drill rises. 

11. The chuck, with blank, turns through one-fourth of a revolution. 

110306°— 19 5 



7& BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

12. The drill descends for the second hole. 

13. The drill rises. 

14. The blank turns another fourth of a revolution. 
15; Third hole is drilled. 

16. Drill rises. 

17. Blank turns. 

18. Fourth hole is drilled. 

19. Drill rises. 

20. Drill continues in its shorter circular orbit, to return into proper position for a 
later blank. 

21. Button chuck rises a little and releases the button. 

22. As the chuck passes beneath a suction tube the button is drawn up against a 
small, fine screen in the tube. 

23. The button drops of its own weight upon a small trap. 

24. When a number of buttons corresponding to a given weight have accumulated 
on the trap it releases and drops the buttons into a bucket. 

25. The tripping of the door or trap registers the number of buttons finished. 
Another feature of the machine is the equipment of little screened suction tubes, 

some traveling, and some stationary, which draw away the dust whenever it is generated 
by carving or drilling. The amount which the carving tool may be lowered to compensate 
for grinding can be fixed by a large ratchet disk over the machine, which permits of 
adjustment to the one-thousandth of an inch. 

When the fisheye pattern (cf. PI. XXXVII, fig. 3, buttons in second row from 
top) is desired, a thin, revolving emery wheel, or a steel fish eye cutter, is placed so that 
as the button passes from the carving orbit to the drilling (without central depression) 
the tool swings down and at one stroke cuts out the fisheye. There may also be 
an attachment for causing the blank to turn upside down, so that the back may be 
hollowed out instead of being left flat or rounded, as is ordinarily the case. 

This machine as described is the. double automatic button machine. Somewhat 
older types are the single automatics, where separate machines embody the processes 
of facing and drilling. These are still in use in some factories. A very recent addition 
to the button machine consists in an automatic grinding and feeding attachment, 
whereby the blanks are first backed and then dropped into the chucks from an endless 
belt. As the machine is generally used, the blanks are placed individually in the 
chucks by the attendant, usually a woman, who becomes very expert. 

It will be recalled that the blanks were tumbled before being backed. In conse- 
quence, as they come to the automatic machine the back edges are slightly sharper than 
the edges corresponding to the inside surface of the shell. It is possible, therefore, for 
a deft operator to distinguish at the touch the outside surface from the inside and so 
to place the blanks in the chucks that the one side or the other (as desired) will be 
finished. There seems to be some difference of practice, nearly all manufacturers 
believing that the inside gives the best finish, while some find a better product by 
finishing the outside. Experiments made at the Fairport station do not indicate a 
marked difference. Possibly a better or more uniform gloss is obtained on the outside, 
while a more pearly "water" results from finishing the surface corresponding to the 
interior of the shell. However, an obvious advantage in carving the inner surface 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XL. 




Fig. 



-The chums, with buttons receiving polish by the use of acid and steam. 

drips into the churns. (See p. 77 .) 



Note the funnels from which acid solution 




Fig. 2. — The sorting room, in which skillful operators classify buttons into 40 prades. (Sec p. 77.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 77 

arises from the fact that the outside, after having been backed, is flat and true, while 
the inner face may have a natural unevenness. The blank on its back or flat side 
thus rests more securely in the chucks of the finishing machine and, when finished, 
both sides are in such true form as desired. 

Assuming each chuck to be properly filled in turn, a machine might finish from 33 
to 72 buttons per minute, according to the speed given it. Ordinarily the capacity 
varies from 100 to 190 gross per day. In the days of handwork the output of a single 
operator in shaping was about 20 gross per day, and the buttons had then to be passed 
to the driller, who could turn out about 50 gross per day. The cost of a double auto- 
matic machine in 1914 was about $1,300, with about $300 additional for the feeding 
attachment, but a machine would probably cost $2,500 in 1919. The operators are 
usually women, who were paid, in 1914, i to 2 cents per gross and earned $7 to $ii 
per week. In 1919 the rate of pay and earnings are 33^3 per cent higher. 

The automatic machine has revolutionized the industry of button manufacture 
from fresh-water shells. It makes possible not only a far greater yield, but a better 
uniformity of product than was ever possible with handwork. Something is yet to 
be desired in the way of lessening the amount of breakage of blanks in process of manu- 
facture, but the machine is being continually improved and perfected. 

Polishing. — From the machine the buttons are taken to the chums, where they 
are tumbled, or churned, with water and pumice to clean them, take off the rough edges, 
and make them ready for receiving the final polish (PI. XXXV, fig. i and PI. XL, fig. i). 

The polishing is also a tumbling process, in which, however, sulphuric or other 
acid is used in conjunction with steam. After the buttons are dried in shakers with 
sawdust (PI. XXXV, fig. 4), they are placed with dry sawdust and washing powder 
in a combined tumbler and shaker. This process removes any trace of limy deposit 
and gives the final luster. Finally the buttons are conveyed in buckets or boxes to the 
sorting room. 

Sorting. — A very important feature of a button factory is the sorting room, for 
the qualities and grades can not be sold if mixed indiscriminately. The classifying accord- 
ing to sizes and thicknesses has already been accomplished in the blank stage, but the 
grading according to freedom from defects of manufacture or from natural shell stains 
and with respect to color, luster, and iridescence must be accomplished by the hands 
and eyes of skilful sorters. Girls are always employed for this work on account of 
their superior deftness, or quickness of selection, and the most expert sorters can 
separate the buttons into 12 grades with extreme rapidity. They are provided 
with a well-lighted room and work seated in rows at long tables before windows (PI. 
XL, fig. 2). The buttons are handled individually and thrown into series of boxes or 
drawers arranged about the operator; from 85 to 200 gross of buttons may be sorted 
in a day, so that sorters might earn, in 1914, from $5.25 to $12 per week, on the basis 
of pay at one cent a gross. In 1919, sorters are apparently earning from $10 to $19 
per week on a sliding scale wage of 0.6 to 1.15 cents per short gross according to the 
number of grades (from 2 to 12) sorted. 

The number of grades varies with the several establishments, but it would not be 
practicable to enumerate them. Some factories make a specialty of iridescents or 
shiny-backs, as they were originally called. The iridescents are made from the hinder 
portion of the niggerhead, pimple-back, and related shells. If a niggerhead shell is 



78 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 

polished on the outside, there is seen to be an almost exact dividing line between the 
smaller brilliantly iridescent portion and the larger merely lustrous portion. Muckets 
and related shells produce no iridescent buttons. Some may be obtained from the blue- 
point, three-ridge, and washboard, but these are often not otherwise up to grade in 
quality. Buttons from these shells often require bleaching, and it has been observed 
that the process of bleaching increases the degree of iridescence. 

Although iridescents, when carefully selected, command a good premium, they are 
comparatively too few to make it generally worth while to work particularly for them. 
Care must be taken that the entire button is cut from the iridescent portion without 
overlapping of the forward portion of the shell. As a rule, no special effort is made 
to cut them, but as a number are cut incidentally, a premium may be paid to the sorters 
to separate them from the others. In consequence a limited number of clear iridescents 
are obtained which can be sold at a good price. When ordinary buttons of good grade 
were bringing 38 to 40 cents per gross, iridescents would bring 75 cents. Indeed, if 
there were any regularity of supply the price could undoubtedly be raised much higher 
and still the demand be good. 

Bleaching and Dyeing. — References have previously been made to the preva- 
lence of stained, spotted, or otherwise discolored shells. Such shells or portions of shells 
constitute a considerable proportion of the undesirable waste. Manufacturers have 
long striven to find proper processes of removing the discoloration without detriment 
to the quality of the product. Old methods of bleaching embraced the use of alkalies 
which injured the shell and caused the buttons to disintegrate or to break in the laun- 
dries. Hence bleaching came into disfavor in the trade, and some purchasers decline 
to purchase buttons believed to have been bleached. Bleaching as now generally 
practiced, however, is not injurious. Factories employing this process have each their 
own peculiar formulas or methods, but until very recently the essentials of the process 
were probably the same in most plants — peroxide, chloride of lime, and heat, with 
variations in the degree of heat and the period of action. Other chemicals are now 
employed in secret processes which seem to be very effective. 

"Without bleaching, discolored buttons may be used to advantage for the produc- 
tion of smoked-peari buttons, which are blackened by staining with sulphur and silver 
nitrate. Various dyes are also used in the producrion of fancy buttons of bright colors, 
as red, green, or blue, to suit the capricious demands of fashion. Some are now being 
so treated chemically as to produce an excellent imitation of the buttons made from the 
Trocha shells of Japan, but ^vith better finish. Many shells in nature have beautiful 
colorings of purple, salmon, or pink, but the shades are not adapted to market demands, 
and it is claimed that the colors are liable to fade unevenly. Consequently, beautiful 
as some shells appear in natural condition, they must be classed as waste unless some 
effective process of bleaching or staining be applied. 

Carding, Packing, and Sale. — Certain factories work for the bulk trade — that is, 
for the supply of garment manufacturers who do not require the goods carded; others 
for the carded trade exclusively, while some are prepared to supply both. 

If the bulk trade is supplied, it remains after sorting only to pack and ship ; other- 
wise, the buttons must be attached to suitable cards. Sometimes the sewing is done 
in the factory; in other cases, more so in the past than at present, buttons are given out 
to women at home who wish to earn pin money at spare moments. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 



79 



Within the last two years a machine has been introduced for neatly attaching 
the buttons to the cards with small wires. It has the advantage of not only saving time, 
but of attaching the buttons individually, so that a single button may be removed 
without loosening the others from the card. This is a convenience to the consumer 
as well as to the manufacturer; for if, after carding, it is noted that a defective or an 
off -grade button appears on a card, it can easily be removed and another put in its place 
with a special machine. These wire-stitching machines are usually operated by girls, 
with one or two men to keep the machines in order. A single machine may turn out 
150 gross per day, more or less. The record in May, 1914, was 240 gross stitched to 
the cards in 9.5 hours. The operators were then paid from seven-tenths of a cent to 
I cent per gross (about 1.2 cents in 1919), and might earn $6 to $10 per week ($8 to 
$11 in 1919). The machines were not sold, but were operated on a basis of hire or 
lease. 

After carding, the buttons are ready to be boxed and sold. Individual manufac- 
turing establishments have specialties in the way of attractive cards and boxes or 
display outfits. Naturally the departments of advertising and selling have much to do 
with the success of the factory and constitute a considerable element of overhead 
expense. The wholesale price of buttons varies between wide extremes. Buttons of 
45 lines and excellent quality may be sold as high as $2.25 per gross; or an overproduc- 
tion and accumulation of low-grade lines have led to sales at as low a figure as i cent per 
gross. Owing to the large number of low-grade buttons sold in bulk, the average price 
per gross, as computed from a statistical survey of the industry conducted by the 
Bureau for the year 1912, was about 23.5 cents per gross. As this price probably cov- 
ered freight, insurance, and discounts, the net factory price would have been corre- 
spondingly lower. 

The elements of cost in the manufacture of buttons must vary very widely accord- 
ing to the grade of the shell, the line of the button, the quality of labor, the size and 
output of the plant, and the systems of management. By courtesy of a manufacturer 
we may illustrate by the following citations of costs in particular lots of material which 
were carefully followed through the various processes of manufacture. The items in 
each case are as nearly correct as could then be made (19 15), but the same tables would 
not apply exactly to other batches of the same lines. The data serve a useful purpose 
as illustrating relative costs of the several processes, although the prices of shells and 
the cost of labor have increased materially (approximately 75 per cent) since 191 5. 

Relative Costs in the Severai, Processes of Button Making, as of the Year 1915. 



Items of cost. 



Shell 

Cutting 

Overhead expense in ctitting 

Grinding 

Overhead expense in grinding .'.'.'.'..'.'..'..'..'. 

Machining 

Overhead expense in machining ' 

Sorting '.!!!!'.!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Overhead expense in sorting !!!!!.'!!!!!! 

Total (allowance for losses in process of manufacture not included) 

Ratio of shell cost to total per cent 









Example 


Example 


Example 


of 2»-line 


of ifr-line 


of 20-Iiue 


buttons. 


buttons. 


buttons. 


better 
grade. 


to. 0335 


So. 0524 


$0. 1667 


.0523 




0689 


.107s 


.0196 




0194 


•0393 


.0015 




0018 


■OOS7 


.0135 




0135 


.OI2S 


.01 




01 


■ 015 


.015 




CIS 


.ois 


.01 




ox 


.01 


.014 




014 


.014 


.1684 


. 2r40 


•3857 


30 


36 


43 



8o BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

Many of the cheaper buttons are manufactured, really, in the way of by-products; 
that is, the shells must be bought for the making of good buttons, and the cost of the 
shell is chargeable to these profitable lines; it is better then to cut the remainder of 
the shell into very cheap grades than to throw it away. There are times, however, 
after the demand for the poorer grades has been oversupplied, that it becomes actually 
necessary to discard waste shell, unless one is to manufacture at a serious loss. 

UTILIZATION OF WASTE PRODUCTS. 

In 1912, according to a statistical survey conducted by the Bureau, 55,671 tons of 
shells were used for the manufacture of buttons. Assuming that only 90 per cent of 
this material became a waste product in course of manufacture, we find 50,000 tons of 
waste material. This waste consisted principally of shells discarded after cutting out 
the blanks, but a considerable quantity was in the form of finely pulverized shells or 
dust generated in the processes of cutting, backing (or grinding), facing (or carving), 
and drilling. This dust is not permitted to escape into the air, as otherwise the atmos- 
phere of a factory would be unendurable. It is removed and concentrated by streams of 
water played on the shell while cutting and by a system of blowers and suction tubes 
connected with the several elements of finishing machinery. The dust is, therefore, 
made available for use. 

The uses of the waste material would be various were it not for the fact that other 
cheaper materials are available for many of the purposes for which it is adapted. For 
instance, the waste shell might be burnt for lime or used for the improvement of soils 
or for many common purposes. 

The principal use of the waste shell is for the production of poultry grit, for which 
purpose it is prepared by passing it through crushing machines, which divide it into the 
desired fineness; defective or broken blanks and unmarketable buttons also pass into 
the crusher (PI. XLI). The waste shells are sometimes used also as road-building mate- 
rial. The shells are very hard and do not pulverize so readily as oyster shell. In this 
respect there are obvious disadvantages as well as advantages. 

The dust is useful in stock food, and in condition powders for hogs and poultry; 
it serves also appropriate purposes as an element in the manufacutre of artificial marble, 
tile floorings, etc. It is said to form a constituent of some jewelry polishes, soaps, and 
cleansing powders. The present market for dust is, however, nearly negligible. 

In 1912, 22,530 tons of crushed shell were sold, yielding $114,722, besides about 
10,500 tons of shell not crushed which were sold (probably largely to crushers) for $7,600. 
The sale of dust amounted to only 1,220 tons, bringing $3,470. The shell commanded 
about $5.50 per ton, and the dust about $4 per ton. In 1919 shell and dust yield, 
respectively, about $12.50 and $1 per ton. Both the shell and the dust possess certain 
exceptional qualities, and undoubtedly in time a better place in industrial uses will be 
found for them. 

USE OF SHELLS FOR NOVELTIES. 

The production of novelties from fresh-water mussel shells takes a wide variety of 
forms (Pl.XLII). In 1912 there were six novelty works with an output valued at $61,800. 
From small whole shells or from portions of shells there were made such articles as watch 
charms, hatpins, stick pins, buckles, chains, cuff buttons, fancy buttons of all sizes and 



Bui,L. U. S. B. F., 1917-1J 



Plate XLI. 




Crushing plant where waste shell and defective blanks are converted nuu lIiilLi- ;i U i il a-il nilu i n a lul products. (See p. 80.) 



BUI.L. U.S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XUI. 




Novelties made from portions of fresh-water mussel shell. (See p. 80.) 



KRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 



8i 



many patterns, perforated tops for salt shakers, inlaid work, etc. Most oi tlie novelty 
works are located in Muscatine, Iowa. 

The yellow sand-shell, being a rather long, straight-lined shell of peculiar pearliness, 
though not a clear white, is particularly adapted for novelty work, and thus commands 
such a high price that, under normal conditions, no manufacturer can afford to cut 
buttons from it. Shells of this species were often sorted out by the shellers on the river 
bank to be sold at a price two or three times the value of button shells, or from $40 to $60 
per ton. Such shells as were not sorted out, but sold along with less valuable material, 
were subsequently again sorted out by the manufacturer for resale. Practically all of 
these shells were exported to Germany, where they were highly valued. Such shells 
for export sold as high as $90 per ton f . o. b. New York. 

The Daily Consular and Trade Report of January 6, 1914, stated that there was a 
steady demand in Hamburg for the following grades of American shells, prevailing 
prices c. i. f. Hamburg per 220 pounds being quoted as follows: 







Equivalent 
price per ton of 
a.240 pounds. 


Niggerheads . . . . 


*S-9S 
11.90- 16.66 


$60.58 

48.4T-$l33-37 
121. 16- 169.63 


Muckets 







Prices of marine shells at the same time were reported as ranging from $7.14 to 
$107.10 per 220 pounds (equivalent price per ton, $72.43 to $1,090.47). 

Processes for Polishing Shells. — Polished shells of the iridescent varieties make 
attractive souvenirs or table ornaments. The polishing may be accomplished by one 
of the following methods, as described by J. B. Southall, shell expert of the Fisheries 
Biological Station at Fairport : 

Buffing process. — The outer surface of the shell is ground off by an emery wheel or 
grindstone, the former being preferable, as it grinds much faster. If the surface of the 
shell is grooved, a file is generally used to remove the portions of the surface not touched 
by the grinding wheel. After the outer surface has been removed the shell is polished 
by holding it against a felt polishing wheel revolving at the rate of 2,000 to 3,000 revo- 
lutions per minute, fine polishing paste being applied to the surface of the wheel as 
needed. When all the emery scratches have been removed, the shell receives its final 
polish by holding it against a canton-flannel buffing wheel revolving at the same rate as 
the polishing wheel. If many shells are to be polished a double emery-wheel stand can 
be used to advantage by having the polishing wheel on one end of the spindle and the 
bufEng wheel at the other end. 

Chemical process. — If the entire shell is to be polished — that is, the iimer and outer 
faces — prepare the shell the same as for buffing. After the surface has been ground off 
the shells are placed in a cylindrical tumbler, using enough water to cover and a reason- 
able amount of fine pumice powder. It usually requires 8 to 10 hours of tumbling to 
remove the emery scratches and smooth the outer face of the shells. After the shells 
are smooth enough they are taken from the tumbler and placed in the polishing machine. 

Polishing machines can be purchased on the market, but a very good home- 
made machine can be constructed at a small outlay. Mount a short piece of 
I -inch shaft in a frame so that the shaft inclines at an angle of 45°, and at 



82 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

the upper end fasten an earthenware jar of suitable capacity. The ordinary speed 
for the polisher is 40 to 60 revolutions per minute. The jar being tipped at an 
angle of 45°, the shells are tumbled over one another instead of resting on the 
bottom of the jar and moving with it, thereby allowing the acid to remain on the 
shells and cause pitting. A most convenient acid dropper is made by cutting a very 
narrow groove in the side of a cork and inserting it firmly in the tube of a glass funnel. 
With a little practice the number of drops to the minute can be regulated by the size of 
the groove in the cork. The next operation is to place the shells in the polishing machine 
and pour in a measured quantity of water just sufficient to cover them completely. A 
quantity of sulphuric acid equivalent to 20 minims for each 8 ounces of water in the jar 
is then placed in the dropper, which should be suspended over the polisher and so ad- 
justed that the acid will fall into the jar at the rate of 10 to 15 drops per minute. A very 
good plan is to take some of the water out of the jar and add it to the acid in the glass 
funnel, thus diluting the acid, and diminishing the danger of pitting the shells by allow- 
ing the pure acid to drop on them. It generally takes from 45 to 60 minutes for the 
polishing, if the acid has been gauged correctly. Just before the shells are polished the 
water becomes milky. Do not allow the shells to stay in the water long after the milki- 
ness appears, as the shells soon become coated with a white substance which is very hard 
to remove. After the desired polish is obtained dump the shells out and wash thor- 
oughly with clean, cold water; then wash the polisher, place the shells back into it, cov- 
ering them again with clean water, and revolve as before, applying steam to the water 
with a hose until it boils. Just as the water comes to a boil pour in an amount of com- 
mercial muriatic acid equal to that of sulphuric acid used in the first operation and allow 
the shells to tumble a couple of minutes after the acid has been poured in. Remove the 
shells and wash as before. After washing the shells allow them to dry for 48 hours; then 
place them in a box tumbler and allow them to tumble in good, clean sawdust for a couple 
of hours. In this way the shells are buffed and receive the finishing polish. 

ECONOMY AND WASTE. 

THE PROBLEM OF CUTTING. 

In the early period of the button business, owing to the entire want of skill of the 
cutters and the apparent abundance of the shells, a most wasteful use of shell prevailed. 
Two or three blanks were cut from shells which should have yielded two or three times as 
many (PI. XLIU). Factories could not now exist with such sacrifice of raw materials as 
then occurred. As a matter of fact, when new factories were continually forming in the 
early days, each eager to obtain cutters from other factories, it was impossible to main- 
tain system in the cutting department, and a confessedly unfortunate condition pre- 
vailed. 

With a condition of greater stringency bringing a necessity for better economy, the 
difficulties in the administration of the cutting department were augmented to the point 
of becoming a serious menace. Naturally, the need for betterment was first appre- 
ciated by the manufacturer; but the ways and means of bringing system and economy 
out of a condition of disorder and waste were at first baffling. 

The process of cutting is at first glance a very simple one, and until rather recently 
the work of cutting was not generally understood to be skilled labor, nor was it really 
practiced as such. Nevertheless, in no part of the factory is the opportunity greater for 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XLIII. 




Illustrating wasteful cuttmg practiced in earliest stages of fresh-water pearl-button mauufacturin;; industry. 
Compare ensuing plates. (See p. 82.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 83 

the exercise of care and good judgment on the part of the laborer or for intelligent and 
sympathetic cooperation between management and labor. 

The problem of the cutting room is, indeed, a complex one owing to the difficulty 
of maintaining an exactly definable standard or of arriving at a system of count and pay- 
ment that is at the same time neither open to criticism in some features nor conducive 
to waste. The desideratum of course, is a working plan, that neither denies to the 
cutter any portion of his reward, nor, on the other hand, relieves him of due responsi- 
bility for the cutting of shells in the best interest of manufacture and in accordance with 
proper usage of material. 

A great variety of shells are used, differing in size, weight, shape, and quality. No 
single shell is of uniform thickness throughout, but all taper, more or less, from thicker 
forward and center portions to thinner rim and tip; each shell, may, therefore, produce 
good, inferior, or worthless blank. By poor spacing an unnecessary portion of the shell 
may be wasted, or, from careless manipulation, an undue proportion of the blanks may 
be inferior or worthless. It is quite possible, too, to waste more time in the careful cut- 
ting of material than is warranted by the saving of material. Consequently it is essen- 
tial to impose checks in relation to the quantity and the quality of the output and to the 
proportion of product to materials consumed. 

DEFECTIVE BLANKS. 

Since no shell is of uniform thickness in all parts, the blanks from any given shell 
may vary from very thick to very thin. (See PI. XXXVII, fig. 2.) All blanks wholly 
or in part thinner than two lines (one-twentieth of an inch) are called tips and can only 
be used for very inferior buttons." A blank is never too thick to be acceptable, since 
it can be ground down to the desired thickness; unfortunately splitting is not yet practica- 
ble with fresh-water shells. A cutter, however, may cause a rim blank to split by twist- 
ing the shell when half sawed through, thus increasing the count though the resulting 
blanks are undesirable. Such an unfair practice is detected when blanks are found with- 
out a back, or covering, of horny epidennis. From too much haste or too little care, the 
blanks, instead of being sawed clean through, may be pushed out, leaving flanges of shell 
and homy matter on the outside which cause much trouble in the succeeding processes. 
In very thick shells it is often undesirable to cut the rim, on account of the blanks having 
such a pronounced bevel as to work poorly or to fly out of the chucks in the process of 
facing and drilling and perhaps injuring the chucks or drills. It is usually better, there- 
fore, to let this portion of the shell be wasted. Blanks cut through the eyespots (muscle 
scars) or through certain shell defects are sometimes undesirable. The cutter may 
space the blanks too closely, overlapping them, and thus producing buttons that are not 
round. In such a case, too, there is a danger of the saw being destroyed by the unrolling 
of the cylinder. (See PI. XL,V, lower left-hand comer.) 

This brief account of the more conspicuous possible defects in cutting will account 
for the practice of counting out certain blanks; that is, of requiring that a blank, to 
count for payment, must be two lines or more in thickness, must have the back on, 
be round, clean-cut, or without ragged edges, and be not cut through such spots or por- 
tions of the shells as may be prescribed. These specifications are simple and can be 
complied with by any conscientious cutter. The more difficult problem is that of getting 
the greatest number of blanks from the shells consumed. 

a See footnote, p. 17. 



84 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

CHOICE OF SHELLS FOR PARTICULAR I^INES. 

Particular sorts or sizes of shell will work up most economically for particular sizes 
and grades of buttons. Accordingly, much discretion may be exercised in the apportion- 
ment of shells to the most appropriate uses, having in view the market demands to be 
supplied. A shell may be cut entirely into one size of blanks by one cutter, or the good 
blanks, the button blanks, may be cut out at one machine, while the remainder is passed 
directly, or after a lapse of time, to another cutter for taking out the tips. In other cases 
the shell is first worked for a few large blanks, and subsequently more completely used for 
smaller sizes. In this respect a large factory has a certain advantage over the small, 
independent cutting shop, since the latter must cut whatever shells are on hand into the 
particular lines for which the market is calling, while the larger factory may select 
from the bins the shells suited to the temporary needs, or may return to the bins, if 
desired, the partly cut shells. The detached cutting plant, on the other hand, may 
have an advantage in the saving of freight charges on useless shells. 

The assignment of the shells for particular lines depends upon the judgment of the 
foreman or manager alone; but a proper quantity and quality of output and the elimi- 
nation of unnecessary waste are contingent upon efficient labor in the cutting room. 
It will be of value in this connection to give some details of shop management, especially 
as observed in plants marked by the economical use of shells. 

SHOP MANAGEMENT. 

Disregarding minor differences, the shop management is, in brief, as follows: Each 
button cutter is assigned a machine, but is expected to furnish certain tools. The shells 
are weighed out to him, and he is assigned the proper line. Cutters with the best records 
may be favored with the most desirable lines. At certain intervals he turns in the 
blanks which he has cut and receives pay at so much per "count". The count, or 
"gross," as it was formerly called, is not the ordinary gross of 12 dozen, but an arbi- 
trary and long-estabUshed unit of 14 dozen." Since it would be impracticable to 
count the entire output of each cutter, his blanks, after shaking to remove chips and 
dust, are turned out into a tub on the scales and the gross weight recorded. A handful 
may then be taken at random to weigh out a given small unit in the pan of a balance 
scales. The buttons from the pans are then counted individually on the table, those not 
acceptable (for defects previously mentioned) being discarded from the count. 

The manner of count in different factories is divergent. In one, all blanks are 
counted as of the same value; in another, the blanks under four lines but over two lines 
in thickness are counted two for one. The latter plan is based on the fact that the thin 
blanks can be cut rapidly, and, although usable, are of relatively little value in manu- 
facture. The former plan, that of giving the same count to tips as to good blanks, is 
simply "an acceptance by the manufacturer of responsibility for the shape of the 
shell." 



» Thus we find that, in the language of button jnanuJacture, neither the imit of measure, the line, nor the tmit of count tor 
blanks, the gross, corresponds to the common usage. The Une is adopted from European practice and represents one-fortieth 
of an inch. The gross of i68 was originally based on an allowance for breakage and other losses in the manufacture of the blank 
into buttons. The terms although imfortunate, are matters of custom and are understood by all immediately concerned. 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 85 

Upon the basis of the sample count and the gross weight of the blanks the total 
count is readily computed for the purpose of payment. According to divergent methods 
payment may be made either at a fiat rate per gross of 168 blanks, or the weight of shells 
used may first be charged against the sheller, and payment (at a higher unit rate, of 
course) is then made by deducting from the computed value of the blanks the cost of 
the shell at a fixed price previously agreed upon. 

The difference in the two methods has to do with the fixing of responsibility for the 
economic use of shells. In the first case, the management alone is responsible for economy, 
in the second the responsibility is divided. The latter seems really fairer to the cutter 
than the former and puts a proper premium upon careful and efficient work. 

In case of payment exclusively upon the basis of blanks returned, the interest of 
cutter and management are continually in conflict. The cutter is tempted to sacrifice 
economy of material to gross output of blanks per day, while the management must be 
continually endeavoring to prevent undue waste of shell. This is a condition provocative 
of friction and liable to result in discharges or in docking. 

In the other case, the cutter understands that waste of shell diminishes his earnings. 
Suggestions from the foreman to show how more blanks could be taken from a given 
shell are, therefore, received as personal help rather than as rebukes. A single instance 
that came under the observation of the writer will serve to illustrate: A cutter had 
laid down a cut shell when the foreman pointed out how two more blanks might be cut. 
The cutter readily accepted the suggestion, which was to his own interest, and as the 
manager went away remarked to the writer: "Under the old system there would have 
been a regular 'call down' about that." 

Cutter and management soon learn that care and system profit more than haste. 
The cutters earning the best wage are those who begin at the right place, plan out the 
cutting to use the most of the shell, cut in rows, and take the time necessary to avoid 
mistakes. (Cf. Pis. XLIV, XLV, and XLVI.) 

Under such a plan there can be no occasion for discharge. The cutter who lacks 
the intelligence, the aptitude, or the character to become a skillful cutter, even with help, 
must find the business unprofitable and seek employment in other lines for which he 
may be better adapted. The work passes naturally into the class of skilled labor, and 
the skillful do not have their proper earning diminished by an average rate which is 
lowered by the waste and scant production of the unskillful. 

This report is not, however, concerned with the relative merits of systems of man- 
agement except as they may affect the waste of raw materials. Propagation, protec- 
tion, and the economical use of material are phases of the general conservation problem 
that are indissolubly linked. Without regard to the details of any system of adminis- 
tration, it may be said that the economic use of shells will necessarily be promoted by 
a plan (i) which divides between management and labor the responsibility for waste 
of shell ; (2) which does this in such a way as to remove as far as possible the necessity 
for arbitrary docking or rebuke or discharge; and (3) which consequently substitutes 
for such forms of discipline a true spirit of cooperation between employer and employee 
for mutual advantage. The best spirit and the best intelligence of all concerned may 
well combine for the most advantageous use of materials, having in view both the dimi- 
nution of waste and the improvement of quality of product. It is futile to imagine 



86 



BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 



that in the long run the interest of cutter or manufacturer is promoted by waste or 
antagonism to legitimate improvement. 

PROPORTIONS OF PRODUCT AND WASTE. 

The unavoidable waste in the commercial use of mussel shells is remarkably high, 
assuming the most economical use possible of materials under present conditions. The 
waste involved in the combustion of coal is often cited as an example of unavoidable 
loss, where, under the most efficient methods in use, only a small per cent of the latent 
energy is converted into power. In button manufacture we find that only 5 to 8 per cent 
of the original gross weight of the mussel enters into the button product; but the re- 
mainder in this case is not all lost, since there are waste products which are utilizable 
at a less profit. In the first place, when the mussel is taken from the river, we find 
that about 3 per cent of the dry weight is thrown out as meat." The losses in the shell 
at different stages of manufacture, as determined by averages from several specific 
tests made by J. B. Southall, are shown in the following table: 

Losses in Shells op Certain Species During Manufacture op Buttons. 



Waste or by-product. 



Discarded shell 

Dust in sawinc blank 

Dust in grinding and finishing button 

Total waste or by-product 

Weight of buttons 

Total 



I^e 

Pepin 

mucket. 



Per cent. 
60.8 
16. 9 

13. 9 



90. 6 
9 4 



Nigger- 
bead. 



Per cent, 
73-6 
8.8 
10. S 



93- » 

6.8 



Roughly speaking, 7 per cent of the total weight of heavy shells like the niggerhead 
is marketed from the factory in a form worth $2.16 per pound,* while of the remaining 
93 per cent, a portion is entirely thrown away and another portion sold as crushed shell, 
or dust, at a quarter of a cent per pound.'' 

The table and data are not of purely academic interest. They point to the signifi- 
cance of the problem of the utilization of the now unavoidably wasted material, and 
they emphasize the importance of putting more of the shell into the high-priced 
product, the buttons. 

It remains to differentiate the instances of waste which are prevented by correct 
practice in cutting and those which arise from the form or character of the shell, and 
which consequently may be obviated only by new discoveries in method or by changing 
demands of the trade. 

WASTe IN CUTTING. 



It may be conceded that there is some waste wliich it would be possible but 
not desirable to avoid. Given the present economic conditions, it will appear that 
parts of the shell which could be cut are better left uncut, because the cost in labor 

" The proportion of dry nieat to shell varies widely with the different species. It is safe to say, however, that, on the 
average, the meats with all water dried out represent one thirty-fifth of the total dry weight of the mussel. The utilization of 
the me^.ts is discussed in part 2, page 61 on the mussel fishery. 

b Figuring 1.248 buttons to the pound at 25 cents the gross (good quality 16 line). 

c Price of crushed shell, $5.50 per ton. Price of dust, $4 per ton. 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Plate XLIV. 




Fig. I. — Poor cutting due to want of care or lack of experience. Note poor spacing, overlapping of blanks, and cxfjosed margins of shell, 

indicating that blanks were pushed out. (See p. 87.) 




Fig. 2. — Illustrating careful, methodical cutting. (See p. 87.) 



Bull. U. S. B. F., 1917-18. 



Platr XLV. 




Illustrating reasonably careful practice in cutting. In enHeavoriuK to cut tno closely the shell in lower right-hand comer the 

saw was destroyed. (Seep. 87.) 




Fig. I. — Illustr.itin':: economical use of shells of various sizes. (See p. 87.) 




1 1 lust rat in ji theoretically correct tise of shell for small blanks. (See p. 87.) 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 87 

or in injury to machinery would more than counterbalance the saving of material. 
Nevertheless, all factories are not equally efficient, and some waste occurs that could 
be prevented by watchful and judicious management and by proper training of labor. 
It will not be out of place to illustrate this fact by the use of a few photographs with 
brief explanation. 

Plates XLIV, XLV, and XLVI illustrate the progress in good cutting. 

Plate XLIV, figure i , shows a single shell where the cutter, though exerting some care 
to avoid waste of material, showed a lack of experience or judgment. The blanks were 
irregularly and poorly spaced. In some cases, too, the blanks were spaced too closely, 
so that true circular buttons could not have been obtained. Contrast this with the 
lower figure on the same plate, where the cutting was in rows, with best practicable use 
of shell. 

Plate XLV includes shells from various plants where the cutting is done with 
more than average economy; the shell in the lower right-hand corner illustrates a danger 
in too close cutting, where, because of overlapping a space previously cut, the cylin- 
drical saw was caused to unroll with more damage than a slight loss of material would 
have entailed. The shell was evidently thrown away in disgust. The avoidance of 
the rim blanks in the heavier shells of this illustration may be noted. Blanks obtained 
from the rim of such shells have so much bevel that they will not work successfully in 
the further processes and are liable to cause injury to machinery. 

Plate XLIV, figure 2, and Plate XLVI illustrate the most economical cutting 
feasible under present conditions, and also show how shells are used to practical 
advantage by double cutting; that is, by taking out the larger lines first and then 
removing the smaller lines. Plate XLVI, figure 2, shows an excellent spacing of blanks 
in a very favorable shell. 

WASTE DUE TO EXCESSIVE THICKNESS. 

A serious source of waste is found in excessive thickness of shell. If a shell is of 
sufficient thickness for buttons throughout, and in no part of excessive thickness, the 
waste consists in the spaces between blanks and the unutilizable portions of shell such 
as the hinge, umbones (knuckles), and rim. Many otherwise excellent shells, however, 
are very thin at the tips, while the blanks from the forward portion of the shell are so 
heavy that from one-half to three-fourths or more of the thickness must be ground off 
(Pi. XXXVII, fig. 2). It is unfortunate that such blanks can not be split. Very 
thick blanks from ocean-pearl shells may readily be sliced or split into as many blanks 
as desired ; but in the fresh- water mussel shells there are irregularities of stratification, 
or faults, in the shell which cause the splitting to occur in such irregular fashion that 
with any method or device so far employed the waste is quite out of proportion to the 
saving. 

Between shells which produce 700 gross of buttons per ton and those which produce 
1 ,000 gross per ton there is a distinct difference in economic value, assuming quality to 
be the same ; also, there is a saving in the working of lighter shells, since there is evidently 
a useless waste of time involved in the sawing of thick shells and in the subsequent grinding 
away of excessive thickness. Furthermore, the heavy shells are of much slower growth. 
Assuming an equal quality from shells which are lighter and more nearly uniform in 



88 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

thickness, there will be a quicker return from efforts at propagation of such species and a 
greater likelihood of being able to maintain the supply. 

There will undoubtedly develop a more insistent demand for the best yielding 
material, causing an advancing price, while the shells which are found to work with less 
economy will decline (relatively) in price to a point where they can be used with actual 
profit. 

WASTE IN DISCARDED SHELLS. 

A discussion of the general subject of economy would not be complete without 
reference to the discarding of certain classes of shells which have some good qualities, 
but which for one reason or another are not suitable. In the very beginning it was 
thought practicable to use only shells of comparatively uniform thickness. Accordingly, 
muckets and sand-shells were bought, whUe niggerheads, pimple-backs, etc., were 
refused. It was not long before the excellent qualities of these shells became apparent, 
and it was found practicable to cut them. 

The discards at the present time are almost exclusively shells which could not yield 
buttons for which there is a market. Such are thin shells, colored shells, and shells 
exceedingl y stained and spotted ; not all of these are wasted. Some pink and purple shells, 
when thick enough, are found to be of a particularly good working quality; they can be 
used for making the smoked-pearl buttons by staining with silver nitrate. The demand 
for such buttons is limited, and, as many pink or discolored buttons are cut incidentally 
and culled from the better grades, there is little actual market for the pink shells beyond 
the limited requirements of the novelty trade. The elephant's ear is a rather common 
shell of beautiful pink, purple, or salmon color, and it is said to be superior in working 
qualities to the better grades of white shells. It is unfortunate that a simple, satisfactory 
method of bleaching has not been available or that there is no market for the natural 
pink and purple buttons produced from it. Many discolored shells may be bleached, 
though somewhat imperfectly, but bleaching methods have been greatly improved in 
recent years. 

The discoloration is generally attributable to disease or parasites. Discolored shells 
seem to be more common in sluggish water and in portions of streams polluted with 
sewage. 

RESUME OF MANUFACTURE. 

The fresh-water shells are used preeminently in domestic button manufacture, 
though a small proportion enters into the producton of novelties, and up to 1914 an 
increasing number were being exported both for novelty and button making. 

The process of button manufacture consists in classifying and soaking or moistening 
shells, cutting (either in detached cutting plants or in a room of the complete factory), 
cleaning, tumbling, backing, and soaking the blanks, facing and drilling (in one or two 
automatic machines), cleaning, polishing, drying and sorting the buttons, and finally 
sewing them upon the cards or packing in bulk. Processes of bleaching and of staining 
may be introduced as desired. 

The principal operations of skill are the cutting of blanks and the sorting of buttons. 
The chief desiderata are the perfection of an automatic cutting machine and the elimina- 
tion of waste as far as practicable at all stages. These needs are receiving the careful 



FRESH-WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 89 

attention of many manufacturers and mechanics. Remarkable improvements in button- 
making machinery and systems of management have taken place in recent years. 
Perhaps conspicuous advances in the future may be made, not only in such improvements 
of management and existing machinery as are always to be expected, but in the inven- 
tion of an efiBcient machine for blank splitting and in the perfection of bleaching processes; 
also in the greater utilization of unavoidable waste. 

In 191 2 there were 196 separate plants employing mussel shells in manufacture. 
Of this number 153 plants were devoted to cutting only, while 36 factories engaged in 
finishing and grading. Of these latter 20 included cutting rooms, also, and thus comprised 
all the processes of manufacture. In addition there was a single branch plant devoted 
exclusively to the grading of buttons. There were 34 shell-crushing plants, of which 32 
were connected with button factories, and there were 6 novelty works. These establish- 
ments were located in 20 States as follows: Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, 
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New 
Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Peimsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and 
Wisconsin. 

The industry is peculiarly American. The material has until recently been obtained 
in no other country, and the machinery and methods are largely of American design and 
development. 



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